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The Southern sweet potato deal is shaping up to be one of the best in recent years.
Overall, sources in the region were optimistic and predicted higher prices. Everyone’s overall tone was positive, hopeful and cautious.
Pricing information was sketchy in mid-August because it was early in the deal, but sources said they didn’t expect prices to drop.
Shane Watt, director of sweet potatoes at Wada Farms Marketing Group, Idaho Falls, Idaho, said the company is the Dole-approved marketer of sweet potatoes (as well as potatoes and onions), and has deals in North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas.
Other grower-shippers are focusing on development of new varieties.
Shaking things up
Wada Farms has added a new sweet potato variety this year, the murasaki. It has purple skin and white flesh. The company also offers orange and purple varieties, Watt said.
Wayne Garber, partner in Garber Farms, Iota, La., said his company is carrying beauregard and evangeline sweet potato varieties. The company also has begun carrying the beauregard-3, billed as an improved version of the popular beauregard.
George Wooten, president and part owner of Wayne E. Bailey Produce Co., Chadbourn, N.C., said the company carries the covington, beauregard, a bit of the evangeline, o’henry, greenville and some Oriental varieties, such as the grand Asian and the murasaki.
The company recently began carrying the evangeline, and the company’s purple varieties are fairly new, he said.
Roy Hansen, sales manager for Dawson Farms, Delhi, La., have beauregard and evangeline sweet potato varieties.
Earl Roy Sweet Potato Co. LLC, Hessmer, La., will carry beauregard and evangeline sweet potato varieties this year, said manager Johnny Roy. The company’s acreage should be up by about 100 acres this year, and he expects a high-quality crop, he said.
“The crop looks good. We’ve had good weather. It got a bit dry and hot, but we got good rain.”
The company dealt with a minimal amount of pests this year, he said.
Garber Farms has increased its sweet potato crop by about 5% this year.
The vegetables sizing is on track. The company is expecting to harvest around mid-August.
The sweet potato crop is looking favorable this year, Garber said.
“We are very optimistic,” he said.
Garber Farms and other grower-shippers have suffered more than their share of difficult harvests over the last two years but anticipate those hard times are all behind them for now.
This year, Garber Farms may be able to recover from the past two down years and may even be able to get back to where it was three years ago, Garber said. He said he anticipates a decent harvest for this season.
Dawson Farm’s plants look good too. Its harvest will likely start in September, depending on weather, but no weather or pest issues had arisen as of mid-August.
Garber Farms has experienced an above-average start, but depending on the harvest and volume, it will adjust as the season goes on, Garber said.
Looking to expand
Wooten said his company’s North Carolina sweet potato acreage is up about 20% and the company even plans to branch out into additional counties. The company is already planning ahead for new operations for 2011.
North Carolina had hot weather this year, Wooten said. This year’s yield has yet to be determined.
Garber Farms is continuously growing in the northern and southern portions of Louisiana and is offering more line items out of its facilities.
Production is about the same for Dawson Farms this year but is down in Louisiana.
Wooten said his company has experienced 50% growth this year. Production in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama is the same.
Alabama has started a bit in early in late July, but crews worked half days for a while because of the heat, Wooten said.
Jimmy Burch, owner of Burch Farms, Faison, N.C., said the company is producing bigger and better sweet potatoes. Demand is strong, and the sales are up 21%, he said.
Burch said the North Carolina harvest should be gathered around Labor Day and the Georgia harvest is looking good and was expected to be harvested around the eight of August.
Burch said they have 10% more acreage in general. It should be a lovely crop and prices this year.
Prices are a little higher this year, Roy said.
Early pricing will be strong because the industry is coming off a short supply year, Garber said.
Roy and Hansen agreed.
In late August, 40-pound cartons of orange U.S. No. 1 grade North carolina sweet potatoes brought $18-19 and U.S. No. 1 petites brought $14. Cartons of U.S. No. 1s from Mississippi brought $19-22, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In early September last year, 40-pound cartons of orange U.S. No. 1 grade sweet potatoes from North Carolina were $15-16 and $11-12 for cartons of U.S. No. 1 petites. The same out of Mississippi ran $17.50-18 for cartons of U.S. No. 1s.
If the sweet potatoes don’t size up, the jumbo market will be even smaller, Wooten said.
Input costs are similar to last year and remain relatively high, Roy said.
Garber said he is hoping for more favorable fuel prices.
Wooten and Burch said that while most input costs remain similar to last year, labor costs have gone up.


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A survey released by Open Allies for Airfare Transparency finding that large numbers of consumers want more upfront information about ancillary airline ticket fees won support from Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
"Quite simply, the travel industry is all about policies that get more people traveling—and we strongly believe that means listening to consumers' opinions on what will improve their travel experience. Data such as that provided in today's study release is a gift for policymaking, and we hope that everyone with a stake in passenger aviation will pay attention," Dow said.
"These findings are consistent with a survey conducted by the U.S. Travel Association earlier this year. Our survey determined that 92 percent of flyers support a DOT rule that would ensure core airline fees could be seen at the time of purchase and paid for upfront," Dow said.
"The exact same number said it's important to be able to accurately budget for the full cost of an air trip, and that the overall cost of flying, including fees for checked bags and seat assignments, was the most important factor in their decision whether or not to travel by air. Most alarmingly to us, a third of flyers said they travel less than they used to because of airline fees for checked bags, seat assignments, etc," Dow said.
"The growing wealth of data we have about travelers' main concerns points to the need to modernize airports, increase competition and provide travelers with more accurate information about the full cost of flying. The ultimate beneficiary of this policy recipe will be not only the traveler, but the entire U.S. economy," Dow said.

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The rise of Zilch has been jaw-dropping by any measure.
The London company has amassed a customer base of nearly 6% of the UK adult population in under two years – twice as fast as any other FinTech – while the extension of its Series C round this summer took its total funding to more than $460m in debt and equity.
That maintained a valuation of more than $2 billion, having already become Europe’s fastest FinTech company to go from Series A to a double unicorn.
It has executed this in a Buy Now Pay Later market already dominated by rivals such as Klarna. But while the valuation of the Swedish giant has dropped dramatically amid a growing backlash against BNPL, Zilch’s apparently more ethical approach has paid dividends.
The company worked with regulator the Financial Conduct Authority as part of its Sandbox Programme from inception and was one of the UK’s first BNPL providers to be granted an FCA licence to perform regulated consumer credit activities.
CEO Philip Belamant, who co-founded the company with Sean O’Connor, says they have put a team in place which understands the value of ‘doing the right thing’.
“A key piece of advice that I’d offer to anyone looking to build a new business is how important it is to hire the right people,” he tells TechBlast. “We’ve grown to over 250 team members today, and at that size naturally you can’t have as much direct oversight of everything that’s happening as you can in the early days of the business.
“You need to have full confidence that your leadership team is making the right decisions – in every sense of that word. Something we prioritise when meeting prospective new hires is how they answer the question: ‘How important is it to do the right thing, even when nobody’s looking?’
“That same ethos has been absolutely key to our growth. We’ve received a lot of compliments from our investors recently following the UK government’s announcement over the summer that anyone offering a Buy Now Pay Later product will soon need to be regulated.
“That has made our decision to work with the FCA when we founded the business, and the full consumer credit licence we obtained back in 2019, look like a far-sighted strategic masterstroke, because we’re now ahead of the curve.”
Zilch’s investors include Ventura Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Gauss Ventures, DMG Ventures, M&F Fund and Limited Ventures, while its partners include Cross River, Checkout.com, Cashflows, Experian, GPS, Monavate, Marqeta, Mastercard, Onfido, Provenir and Socure.
Belamant jokes: “They’re a little disappointed when I confess that we had no inkling what the government or the FCA was going to do about the regulation of BNPL in the future!
“But we believed then, as we do now, that to build the best possible payments product and offer customers the best possible experience, we had to provide them with the full protections that come with being FCA-regulated.
“If your primary concern is to do right by your customers, you’ll find that your decisions get vindicated eventually.”
Zilch opened a base in Miami this summer and launched with more than 150,000 pre-registered customers in the US market. It said at the time that growth in that market was rapidly outpacing even that seen in the UK.
The company claims its direct-to-consumer model allows it to build relationships with its customers and scale significantly faster than its competitors. It allows both debit – which accrues up to 2% instant cashback and rewards – and credit transactions on its platform, with no interest or late fees.
Belamant was recently named EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 for the London and South East region of the UK. He has launched several thriving payment industry businesses during his career, with early success in the emerging African markets.
“In building Zilch, we were following a similar path to what I’d done with my previous business in Africa: creating a new mobile payments product that makes use of existing infrastructure to promote financial inclusion,” he explains.
“My first company, which started in South Africa, allowed millions of people on low incomes, without access to bank accounts, and who kept their funds in cash, to borrow prepaid airtime – which served as a kind of virtual currency – and then make repayments via the same mobile network operators. In time this meant that they could pay for bills, food and other items from their phones.
“Zilch, of course, is a very different company in many ways, but we’re also using existing infrastructure – in this case, the Mastercard payment rails – to offer customers a new and more rewarding way to pay. Our customers can go anywhere that Mastercard is already accepted and either earn cashback in the form of instant rewards on debit spending or toggle over to use Zilch credit spread repayments over four instalments with zero-interest.
“I’ve found it to be a productive way of thinking about building a truly disruptive product – how can you transform customer behaviour without having to overhaul the entire ecosystem of existing service providers and start from scratch?”


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A huge announcement made today by Microsoft just surprised everyone. Nokia, the company which leaded the mobile industry for years, has now been acquired by Microsoft. Yes, you read correct. Nokia has been sold for a whooping 5.44 billion euros or $7.2 billion. Just a few weeks ago, Microsoft announced the retirement of its current CEO Steve Ballmer and today, it announced on twitter of acquiring Nokia’s phone business including some patents.
As per the deal, 32,000 Nokia employees including Stephen Elop will be transferred to Microsoft. Stephen Elop is no longer the CEO of Nokia. Now he has become the top candidate of becoming the next CEO of Microsoft as Ballmer is retiring within next 12 months.
What does this purchase mean?
Microsoft has bought Nokia’s phone business but what does it exactly mean? This purchase means that there will be no Nokia smartphone in future. “Lumia” and “Asha” trademarks will be transferred from Nokia to Microsoft. But a thing is to be noted that Nokia trademark will be retained by the company. In future, Nokia will only release S40 and S60 OS mobile phones and without Nokia branding till 31 December, 2015. Future smartphones will be Microsoft-branded not Nokia-branded.
Microsoft has stated that it has plans to triple the marketshare of Windows Phones by 2018 with the help of Nokia’s phone business.
Finally we conclude that this is the end of a golden era as there will be no smartphone from Nokia, only feature phones under 10-year agreement.


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September 23, 2020–Luxury online retailer Net-A-Porter has announced three new labels to join the fifth season of Vanguard, the company’s programme for emerging designer talent.
The labels to join the line-up are JiaJia and Artclub, both new and exclusive to the retailer, as well as MinjuKim, which returns for its second exclusive collection at Net-A-Porter after winning the Netflix Next in Fashion competition earlier this year.
The three brands will join Vanguard for its FW20 season and win access to 360-degree mentorship from Net-A-Porter’s global team of specialists. The Vanguard has also this week launched a visual campaign showcasing the three news brands for FW20.
Seoul-based Minju Kim’s label combines artistic creativity and craftsmanship with fairy-tale imagination, creating a mix of “youthful playfulness and avant-garde haute couture”.
Founded by Australian-based designer Heidi Middleton, Artclub is a progressive brand “where both masculine and feminine energies are at play”, with strong modernist shapes sitting amongst a muted palette.
Formally known as Harris Zhu, JiaJia is a New York-based fine jewelry and crystal specimen brand creating pieces set with gold, diamonds, and semiprecious hand carved stones.
“Over the past four seasons we have had the incredible opportunity to witness the talented emerging brands in The Vanguard program grow towards long-lasting success,” Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director at Net-A-Porter, said in a statement. “It is so important to us to provide insightful mentorship which we are committed to continuously developing.
“Two years after launching the program, we are excited to announce the latest three designers JiaJia, Artclub and MinjuKim to join The Vanguard, each offering a uniqueness to the industry that is sure to resonate with the Net-A-Porter customer.”
The fashion industry has evolved a lot over the years. The recent events around the world provided the apparel industry with such a unique opportunity that will alter its value chain and make it more sustainable and efficient. Therefore, leading apparel brands are capitalizing on this trend. Our apparel customization software operates on a similar basis as it lets your buyers design their apparel through a digital medium, thus, ensuring minimal wastage and less recycling requirements.


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The government is going after employers that don't pay workers for time spent putting on and taking off required work clothes and protective gear.
In one of the largest settlements ever with the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, Perdue Farms Inc. will pay about $10 million total to nearly 25,000 current and former employees. The company also agreed to change its pay practices.
The agreement highlights a common industry practice of not paying workers for time spent donning, doffing and sanitizing their work clothes and equipment. This prep time added up to eight minutes a day and about $500 per worker per year in Perdue's case. The settlement makes Perdue the first company in the poultry industry to pay for time spent on these chores under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
On the same day it announced that settlement, the Labor Department filed a lawsuit against Tyson Foods Inc. seeking similar changes in pay practices and recovery of back wages. Attorneys warn that this industry crackdown may be the tip of the iceberg.
Bottom line: Other industries that don't recognize donning and doffing as paid work time are now on notice.


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Hospitality leaders unite to launch Luxury Hotel Advisors
High-profile figures in the hospitality world have joined forces to create a boutique advisory firm that promises to help luxury hotel owners and investors amid the pandemic.
The new outfit has been launched in response to the fact that hoteliers have faced immense challenges over the last year.
Helping hoteliers navigate the Covid19 crisis
Hospitality specialists LK Eric Prevette, Carlos Lopes and Teresa Holden have teamed up to launch their own boutique advisory firm, Luxury Hotel Advisors (LHA), with each holding the title of principal.
LHA aims to help owners and investors navigate this unprecedented economic landscape by providing a hands-on, one-stop-shop for advisory services ranging from asset management and acquisition to disposition and marketing guidance. These services are intended to give owners and investors the support they need to move forward with confidence and success.
“There has never been a greater need for hotel owners and investors to find creative solutions for their investments,” said Lopes. “Luxury hotel properties, in particular, require more thoughtful and innovative approaches to satisfy both customer expectations and ownership investment returns.”
Fresh insights from industry experts
The principals of the firm, which is based in Newport Beach, California, bring together decades of experience in management, ownership, operation, marketing and brand development, as well as the execution of hotel sales and acquisitions worldwide. Additional offices are planned for LA, Dallas, New York and Miami.
The practice has also added prominent leaders from across the industry to its board of advisors.
Notable board members include Ted Teng, who was formerly with The Leading Hotels of the World; the founder of Cripplegate Investments, Terry Petty; and the global director of travel, transportation and hospitality at Microsoft, Shane O’Flaherty. Also included are Raymond Bickson, principal and CEO of Bickson Hospitality Group; the founder of Calder Hospitality, Eric Calderon; the former managing director of Grand Hotel Du Cap Ferrat, Hans Maissen; and the principal of Sonnenblick-Eichner Company, David Sonnenblick.
Prevette concluded: “LHA is currently overseeing a diverse range of projects that include acquiring a hotel asset for a specific buyer whose vision is to convert the hotel into a luxury residential development; serving as expert advisors to the owner of a small luxury hotel in need of post-pandemic reopening, repositioning and overall marketing strategies; assisting the owner of a premium hotel property with respect to a potential rebranding of that asset; and the private, discrete sale of a boutique luxury resort in the Caribbean.”
The Institute of Hospitality, the professional body for current and aspiring managers working in hospitality, has appointed Robert Richardson as CEO. Robert Richardson is to become CEO of the organisation as of 19 April 2021, succeeding Peter Ducker, who spent eight...
Xenia zu Hohenlohe, chairwoman of LeadingHôtelières and founding partner of Considerate GroupHospitality leaders across the globe have come together to form LeadingHôtelières, a coalition working to achieve better representation for women at the highest levels. Formed...
Hotel mogul Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, who set up Sandals Resorts International four decades ago and helped transform Caribbean hospitality, has died at the age of 79, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy. To mark the passing of Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, we’ve decided to...
Our most-read Radisson Hotel Group stories of 2020 roundup includes an exclusive look at how the company responded to the Covid19 crisis and a preview of a beautiful 222-key resort with its very own lagoon. Radisson Hotel Group, the go-to-market name for Radisson...
Our most-read Hyatt Hotels Corporation stories of 2020 roundup features an overview of its impressive development pipeline, a look at the Hyatt Regency brand’s future and an analysis of Covid19’s impact on the group. Hyatt Hotels Corporation is one of the hospitality...
Our most-read IHG stories of 2020 roundup includes a report on how the company has weathered the Covid storm, a look at its ambitious expansion plans and a preview of a stunning ski-in-ski-out resort in the Alps. British hospitality group IHG, which has a portfolio of...
Expert’s Voice: Top ten F&B revenue-management tips for hotel restaurants
Bill Gates’ investment firm to take control of Four Seasons in $2.21bn deal
Design showcase: Top five designs with prints and patterns
Wyndham to bring Registry Collection Hotels to Georgia
Shepherd Hotels and Avocet team up for purpose-driven newbuild hotel


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The company's food scientists claim their new Dairy Milk bars remain brick hard even when left in 104-degrees Fahrenheit heat.
Normal chocolate starts to melt at 93-degrees Fahrenheit.
Researchers at Cadbury's England plant figured out how to break down the sugar particles into smaller pieces.
That cuts the amount of fat covering them, making the pieces more "temperature tolerant."
Cadbury, owned by Kraft, reportedly plans to sell the heat resistant chocolate in countries with hot climates like India and Brazil.
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Following on from the game's latest trailer, Capcom has announced that Monster Hunter: World will be getting a beta in December, and it'll be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers. Nice!
"Take on Three Epic Monsters and Quests in the Exclusive Beta this December and Equip Special Gear from Lethal Hunter Aloy," reads the press release. The beta will be available from the 9th December until the 12th December.
Will you be jumping into this particular hunt? Bring down the biggest beasts you can find in the comments section below.


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Singtel has teamed up with Ericsson as both firms attempt to get a competitive edge on their rivals in the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT) segment.
Ericsson predicts that roughly 28 billion devices will be connected by 2021, of which more than 15 billion will be connected M2M and consumer electronics devices.
The collaboration will start with a trial of Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology beginning in the second half of 2016, the firms said in a press release.
"NB-IoT, a solution which will enable extended coverage and much less complex devices, will enable Singtel to support new IoT use cases in areas such as smart cities, utilities and the environment. Singtel's 4G LTE network already supports low-cost Category 1 (Cat-1) devices, which are built for IoT applications," the press release read.
Tay Soo Meng, group chief technology officer, Singtel, highlighted how the IoT connectivity is an important part of the Singapore Government's Smart Nation initiative, adding that he expects there to be a particular demand to connect a multitude of sensors and devices in a cost-effective manner.
With that in mind, the telecoms firms will focus on power saving capabilities in its networks, enabling energy efficiency benefits for the IoT ecosystem, expecting at least 10 years of battery life.
The press release said that "long-term battery life has become a prerequisite for a vast number of IoT devices" and both believe that is possible to achieve this on existing LTE networks.
It concludes by giving temperature, air quality and flood water sensors as examples of applications that can leverage IoT technologies.


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Michigan pharmacies see uptick in interest in anti-radiation medication
Since the Japanese nuclear crisis began, the handful of pharmacies in Michigan that stock anti-radiation medicine are seeing an uptick in demand.
Potassium Iodide, also known as KI, provides some protection in case of radiation exposure. It helps reduce the chance of contracting thyroid cancer in case of an accident. 9 pharmacies in Michigan stock KI tablets. It’s part of a 5 year national program to provide the tablets to people living within 10 miles of a nuclear reactor.
Kelly Niebel is a spokeswoman for the Department of Community Health. "We do our mailings once a year to encourage folks to have that on supply and keep it as part of their emergency kit with all their other stuff at home.”
The state has given people living near Michigan’s 3 nuclear reactors vouchers for potassium iodide. But, you don’t need a voucher to buy the tablets. Here's a list of Michigan pharmacies that stock KI tablets: Participating Pharmacies
1) Shoreline Pharmacy 950 Blue Star HWY, SouthHaven, MI
2) Meijer Pharmacy 1920 Pipestone Rd., Benton Harbor, MI
3) Meijer Pharmacy 5150 S. Franklin St., Michigan City, MI
4) Meijer Pharmacy 1700 Telegraph Rd., Monroe, MI
5) Meijer Pharmacy 22600 Allen Rd., Woodhaven, MI
6) Kroger Pharmacy 850 Monroe St., Monroe, MI
7) Kroger Pharmacy 3833 N. Dixie Hwy., Monroe, MI
8) Kroger Pharmacy 20645 Gibraltar Rd., Brownstown, MI
9) Kroger Pharmacy 23849 West Rd., Brownstown Twp, MI


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After a 2020 season full of ups and downs, Head Coach Kat Conner and the Texas State soccer team are hoping to learn from their mistakes and build on their successes during the offseason.
Texas State’s COVID-19 dashboard added 22 new student cases since Nov. 20.
The Hays County Local Health Department reports three new COVID-19-related fatalities Nov. 23, a Buda man in his 70s and two women from Kyle in their 70s. There have been a total of 99 fatalities in the county.
Editor’s Note: For the remainder of the school year, The University Star will take on “The 11% Project”, an examination of Black students at Texas State through History, Election, Hometowns, Activism, Creatives, Mentorship and 10 years from now.
Known for its forward-thinking fashionistas, hands-on industry experience and packed-house fashion shows, Texas State's Fashion Merchandising Association (FMA) showcased the latest 2020 designs and trends in a new light during its first-ever virtual fall fashion show.
Now entering its first season of the post-Danny Kaspar era, the Texas State men's basketball team is happy to put a lengthy scandal and a COVID-struck off-season behind it and get back to what it loves: Playing basketball.


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The motorcycle, which Bajaj Auto hopes will spawn an all new segment, of that of rugged load carrying motorcycles, the Bajaj Boxer 150 or the “Bharat Bike” has already been soft launched in some areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. This motorcycle will see a pan India launch in August, this year.
Touted to replace the likes of the long serving but now defunct Escorts Rajdoot and the Ideal Jawa Yezdi, as a workhorse motorcycle for India’s hinterland, the Bajaj Boxer 150 will come with a tough four stroke engine that is expected to be a torquey performer in order to lug big loads in rural India.
With a 150cc engine, Bajaj Auto might not really be able to offer the same level of efficiency as that of a 100cc four stroke motorcycle, and this could be a big factor that makes or breaks the Boxer 150. On how exactly the Indian hinterland’ motorcycle market takes to this particular trait of a larger engined motorcycle is something that would be very interesting to see.
With the existing Splendors of the world doing a reasonable job of hauling three adults around and on other occasions helping to carry loads too, the Boxer 150 is set to challenge the status quo. This apart, the Bajaj Boxer 150 is also expected to equipped with a load carrying platform that could be used to lug large loads as pillion.
Bajaj Auto will be hoping that the INR 40,000 price mark for the Boxer 150, in true Bajaj tradition of offering more for less, will be a big factor that entices motorcycle buyers of the Indian hinterland. All said and done, it is quite commendable that Bajaj Auto is trying to create an all new segment in the Indian motorcycle market than being a mere follower of trends.


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Those are words you might need to get used to hearing, as the possibility of a sale of Chrysler’s parent to a Chinese automaker has become very real.
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA, has made it clear he’s looking to partner with another automaker. General Motors and Ford have both denied him, and now the auto exec is taking suitors from overseas. In fact, he has reportedly received and rejected one bid from a Chinese automaker, but that has opened the door to the possibility of receiving an acceptable offer for an outright takeover.
NBC News reported,
Word of a bid by an unspecified Chinese automaker first appeared in the trade publication Automotive News on Monday morning. Sources told NBC News the bid may have come from Guangzhou Automobile Group, or GAC, which is based in a region traditionally known as Canton, in southern China.
GAC already has a relationship with FCA. Under Chinese law, foreign manufacturers must partner with a local company to produce vehicles in the country, and the Jeep Renegade began rolling off an assembly line operated by GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in April 2016.
While GAC seems like a good candidate, FCA executives have also met in Detroit with representatives from Great Wall Motors. In another ominous sign, Michael Manley, the FCA exec who oversees the Jeep brand, recently missed a planned media event to fly to China.
We don’t know if a sale of FCA to a Chinese automaker is imminent or not, but it does appear to be a possibility.
Chinese automakers have wanted to get into the U.S. market for years, and buying FCA could be the easiest way to do that. While the first offer was rejected, it could only be a matter of time before another one looks appealing enough to send Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, and Fiat into Chinese ownership.
Keep in mind that Volvo was purchased by Geely, a Chinese automaker, and now builds some of the best cars in its history.
Would you be more or less likely to purchase a Jeep if it were owned by a Chinese automaker?
Shopping for a new vehicle?
Bring along CarGurus’ mobile app to help check prices, find good deals, and research cars on your smartphone.


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CAFU, a global on-demand fuel delivery and vehicle services company, announced the appointment of their first-ever chief experience officer (CXO) to support the drive towards making life better through convenience and connected mobility.
In this newly established role, Jeff Baker will focus on developing CAFU’s customer journey, ensuring a fully integrated experience by partnering with the Product and Technology teams. Jeff will oversee CAFU’s marketing, growth, data analytics, customer experience and sustainability teams, while using data to drive business results and embed customer-centric strategies across the entire company.
“We are delighted to have Jeff join our team. As we continue to grow rapidly and evolve as a business, this role is critical in developing new ways to elevate the customer experience” said Rashid Al Ghurair, Founder and CEO, CAFU. “We look forward to benefiting from Jeff’s expertise in developing and activating strategies that build customer advocacy, and in mobilising our sustainability and community engagement plans. After reflecting on how far we’ve come this year as well as how much we have achieved, this new leadership role will allow us to continue to position our business for growth and to capitalise on opportunities that further align with our company’s vision.”
Jeff brings several decades of global expertise in Customer Relationship Management, Loyalty, Brand and Marketing. He has worked across Hospitality, Financial Services, and Retail in both traditional and digital business models – and spearheaded the omnichannel evolution at Al Tayer Group.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to align customer experience, technology and operations, to create a world-class experience for our customers” said Jeff Baker, Chief Experience Officer, CAFU. He added “In addition to having strong operations, an attractive business model and a leading position in the industry, I have always admired CAFU’s level of focus when it comes to executing on its business objectives. I look forward to working with the rest of the leadership team and our talented employees to build on this strong foundation.”


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The announcement was made by Dan Schulman, PayPal President and CEO
The People’s Bank of China has approved PayPal’s acquisition of a 70% equity interest in Guofubao Information Technology Co. (GoPay), Ltd., a holder of a payment business license in China.
With this announcement, PayPal to become the first foreign payment platform to be licensed to provide online payment services in China.
We look forward to partnering with China's financial institutions and technology platforms, providing a more comprehensive set of payment solutions to businesses and consumers, both in China and globally
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions.


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02 Dic Council makes very first approval of payday loan laws
City Council authorized the very first of two readings of the proposed ordinance that could include neighborhood regulations to loan that is payday, inspite of the looming risk of a lawsuit through the industry.
The ordinance would add mandates this type of restricting a advance loan to 20 per cent associated with customerвЂ™s income that is monthly making loan repayment installments at the least 25 % associated with the principal and limited to four re payments.
The ordinance, 17 pages very very long, also contains wording that will prohibit cash advance companies from running significantly less than 1,000 legs from one another. Current companies in close proximity to one another will likely to be grandfathered in but still be permitted to operate.
In case a neighborhood pay day loan shop is available to stay offense of this ordinance, it could need to spend a fine around $500 for every single breach.
A payday that is local company owner, making their 2nd look ahead of the council on Tuesday, asked for that the ordinanceвЂ™s first approval be delayed, nevertheless the demand would not sway the council from unanimously approving the ordinance.
вЂњThere are 3,000 clients that will be devastated,вЂќ stated Andy Lasater, owner of three About money stores in Midland and Odessa. вЂњA great deal will probably be devastated in this town if this mayor and also this City Council states, вЂyou need to double your re re payment given that itвЂ™s healthy for you.вЂ™вЂќ
Following the council conference, Lasater stated he had been disappointed because of the outcome, continuing to state that the ordinance will rather harm customers than protect them. Offering an illustration, Lasater stated clients will rather make use of unregulated Web payday loan organizations which are based offshore plus don’t provide information reports to governments.
вЂњThereвЂ™s certainly a feature of truth to that particular,вЂќ said Don Baylor, Jr., senior policy analyst when it comes to Center for Public Policy Priorities, A austin-based nonprofit policy institute. вЂњWe do know for sure that increasingly more of this industry is migrating online.вЂќ
Baylor added that town ordinances will never deal with Web loan that is payday, however the state could.
The townвЂ™s place in the ordinance is the fact that it allows town officials observe cash advance organizations to lessen вЂњabusive and predatory financing methods,вЂќ based on the workplace memorandum addressed to City Council from City Attorney staff.
The initial pages associated with the ordinance cite a 2012 Pew Charitable Trusts research that discovered borrowers are indebted on average five months per year and borrow the average of $375 each year and invest $520 in interest.
The Center for Public Policy Priorities found that while the overall number of loans in 2013 decreased by 4 percent, consumers paid $1.4 billion in fees, a 12 percent increase from 2012 in a report released Tuesday. The report additionally discovered that for installment payday advances, the loan that is average expanded from 14 months in 2012 to 20 months in 2013.
вЂњMore Д±ndividuals are spending more fees for the exact same amount of cash which they borrowed,вЂќ Baylor said.
Lasater countered the cityвЂ™s argument by saying the town hasnвЂ™t reported an example that is specific of or predatory techniques.
Whenever asked just how both sides can compromise, Lasater stated the town could pass an ordinance that limits the amount of pay day loan shops within the town while continuing to examine more information to find out what you should do in regards to http://cash-central.net/payday-loans-ca the crop that is current of shops.
The guts for Public Policy PrioritiesвЂ™ report included a suggestion for increasing neighborhood and local data reporting.
вЂњThatвЂ™s likely to be the policy that is big for the following (state) Legislature,вЂќ Baylor stated. вЂњYou are in possession of 16 towns and cities, which have used ordinances so we actually donвЂ™t have sufficient data to help you to determine the effect – good or negative – of the specific ordinances.вЂќ
Like Lasater, the pay day loan industry is earnestly protesting regional laws throughout the state. For the 16 Texas urban centers which have passed away neighborhood regulatory ordinances, at minimum five metropolitan areas are being sued by cash advance companies.
вЂњThatвЂ™s another good reason why they ought to stop, wait and appearance during the information to see just what you actually need,вЂќ Lasater said. вЂњItвЂ™s imminent. I think that legal action is certainly imminent for the populous town of Midland, plus itвЂ™s unnecessary now.вЂќ
Mayor Jerry Morales stated he could be alert to the litigation that is potential the ordinance passes.
вЂњThe industry features a lobbyist that is strong and theyвЂ™re probably planning to charm,вЂќ Morales said. вЂњThen, weвЂ™ll perhaps see case in the future.вЂќ
Various other City Council news:
The council made the very first of two approvals for increased parking prices at Midland airport terminal.
The rise will allow the airport to pay for operating that is increasing, for instance the construction for the brand new, 200-space covered parking lot set to open up in July. The brand new parking great deal could be the furtherst great deal through the entry, and it is priced correctly.
The increases, if passed a second time, will be effective with time using the covered lotвЂ™s July opening.
Proposed rates that are per-day
Covered parking great deal: present price $8, brand brand new rate $12
Economy covered parking area: $9
Close-in parking great deal : present price $6, brand brand brand new rate $8
Economy parking great deal: current rate $4.25, brand brand brand new rate $6


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After more than a year at the bargaining table, hospitality workers at 46 hotels, pubs and liquor stores in BC have voted “YES” to a strike and to better standards for hospitality workers. Workers from Vancouver, Nanaimo, Victoria, Kamloops, Harrison Hot Springs, Prince Rupert, Fort St. John and other communities voted to authorize strikes at their workplaces in response to the lack of progress in bargaining to date.
Workers are saying “NO” to:
-wage increases that average only 13 cents a year in upscale hotels like the Wedgewood Hotel and Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel; and average between 3 cents – 6 cents a year in smaller hotels;
-inferior medical and pension benefits;
-second-class benefits for workers outside Vancouver;
-heavy housekeeping workloads; and
-lack of banquet service charge transparency.
The workers’ contract expired May 31, 2012. Local 40 is bargaining with Hospitality Industrial Relations, which represents the multi-employer group.


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BY GRANT LANCASTER
The city’s Department of Transportation will temporarily partner with ParkMobile to give commuters another option to avoid physical payments that increase the risk of infection.
Department officials strongly encourage workers who park in the city avoid contact with parking meters and pay on their phones using either the ParkNYC app or ParkMobile’s app at the 80,000 metered spots in New York City.
ParkNYC is a free app that allows users to pay as they go without fees after loading an initial $25 balance, according to the department.
The partnership with ParkMobile will let New Yorkers pay for single transactions with a 15-cent fee on each transaction. ParkMobile may be attractive to commuters from the tri-state area because it is available in other tri-state cities such as Hoboken, New Jersey.
Commuters can still use cash or card payment at the meters, but Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg asked New Yorkers to strongly consider contactless payments.
“Please help us reduce the need to physically service parking meters and collect, sanitize and securely store cash during this crisis,” Trottenberg said.


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Andrew Byrne, COO of myPOS, explains how cheaper, quicker payment systems can insulate retailers from cash flow problems.
Recent news that Toys R Us has gone bust confirms the tough time retailers have been having recently. The toy retailer went into administration in January but no buyer has been found, leading to the loss of 2,000 jobs.
The chain was far from the only retailer to have run into problems. Others including Carpetright, Mothercare and New Look have been trying to head off trouble by reducing their store presence.
It’s a theme we have been seeing for a while – predominantly offline retail businesses are trying to lower overheads in an attempt to compete with their online-only rivals.
But despite the difficulties, plenty of people see a future for themselves as retailers. Recent research by Aldermore found that just over four million Britons plan to become self-employed within the next three years, with 600,000 of them planning to become retailers.
The vast majority of these will become owners of small retail operations, perhaps following a passion they have had for years. How they will fare, and whether they are able to avoid the fate of brands like Toys R Us, depends to a large extent on how they are able to handle their cash flow.
In the same piece of Aldermore research, 40% of self-employed people said they had experienced difficulties managing cash flow – primarily because of the challenge of getting paid what is owed to them by customers.
The role of mobile payments technology
This is why developments in new mobile payments technology are proving so important, helping small retailers get paid quicker, whilst minimising overheads at the same time.
These new integrated tech solutions are providing retailers with instant access to their funds when accepting card payments, unlike the service offered by the banks, which typically require businesses to wait three days for funds to clear.
Retailers don’t have to commit to costly rentals or fixed contracts either; they only need to buy a terminal. This is also important as many new retailers operate, at least at the beginning, more like ‘pop-ups’, aiming for a nimble style of business until they have tested the viability of their idea.
New payment systems enable these retailers to not only have the confidence that they’ll be paid instantly, but also dodge costly commitments until they have built up a more sustainable revenue base.
These more advanced solutions also allow retailers to offer customers a variety of extra services, such as mobile phone top-ups, which help drive additional revenue and footfall.
All of this is not before time – a recent ruling by the EU dictates that retailers are no longer able to pass the cost of card payments on to the customer– which could mean raising prices or a refusal to accept card payments. Neither of these options feel like anything a forward-looking business owner would want to consider.
In fact, being able to offer payments by card is increasingly going to become the service that customers expect as a minimum. Although many small businesses are currently getting around the charges and cash flow issues by only accepting cash payments, the evidence suggests that this policy is going to become increasingly unsustainable.
For instance, research by consumer organisation Which? found that many rural communities are already suffering from the lack of access to ATMs, meaning that only local businesses that are offering card payments will attract business in these areas.
Small businesses seizing opportunities
But facilitating better card payment processing for retailers isn’t just about keeping them in business.
These more agile systems can help small operations get off the ground in the first place, giving them the confidence that they can set up operations with minimal outlay. It’s no overstatement to say that the new generation of mobile payment systems are helping to ensure that this country remains a nation of shopkeepers.
Research suggests that the headline-grabbing high street woes aren’t preventing entrepreneurs turning to retail. As new mobile payments technology continues to democratise the sector there’s a huge opportunity for a wide range of businesses and entrepreneurs to navigate challenges and seize new opportunities.


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PRWeb 2016-05-26 After much deliberation by industry veterans, 10 Best SEO has announced the Philadelphia winners of the Best SEO Agency award... ...http://www.bizwireexpress.com/showstoryPRWeb.php?storyid=520052
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Esquires hint Tunbridge Wells coffee shop could open next month
7th May 2018
Esquires will 'not just be another coffee shop' when it opens in Tunbridge Wells this summer, its Managing Director has said.
If a planning application is successful, the café will move into the former India Jane shop on Mount Pleasant and will offer a menu specially chosen to suit the town.
The company, which operates from 36 locations, said the eatery could open by the end of June, but has not specified a date.
Esquires will be within walking distance of independent and chain coffee shops in the town centre, including the new Starbucks, also set to open on Mount Pleasant inside the current Knight Frank estate agent.
Doug Williamson, Managing Director, said: 'It's not easy competing with Costa, Starbucks and Caffe Nero...so we don't.
'We at Esquires recognise that we are not a big, deep pocketed high street brand.
'When the residents of Tunbridge Wells visit Esquires they will feel the same way the community in our recently opened Putney store felt, which was a sense of relief.
'We will create a special place.We are not another coffee shop, we are better.'
Mr Williamson, who co-founded the company in 1993, said Esquires will offer power receptacles, host pizza and cupcake making days and will welcome dog owners to bring in their pets.
Esquires has not yet said what is likely to be on the Tunbridge Wells menu, only that it is likely to be a variation to what is found in other cafes, which includes a selection of coffees, juices, beer, wine, snacks, hot food and sandwiches.


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No one can deny that NFC figures have become increasingly popular. Skylanders is doing really well, and it seems Disney is having some success as well. Now that Nintendo is jumping into toys with Amiibo, they may have scored big. They seem to have a positive outlook on their new venture, as stated by Reggie Fils-Aime:
“I think Amiibo can have a significant impact on driving the install base for Wii U on the sales of figures themselves. I think this could be a significant business opportunity.”
This brings up the big question: Why did Nintendo wait to put out toys themselves? Skylanders first released 2011, and it has been a success. The success attracted Disney, who also released their own franchise, Disney Infinity. Yet, Nintendo did not jump in themselves at first. This is puzzling considering that the Wii U’s GamePad has a NFC reader that is compatible with such toys. Fils-Aime said in an interview with Polygon:
“One, we wanted to be thoughtful in our approach. In our view, going down this path you have to have differentiation.”
“Second, we wanted to make sure that we would launch the concept with a big franchise, and certainly Smash (Bros.) fits that bill. Smash is really perfect. All the various characters, the gameplay that Mr. Sakurai has created is fantastic. So for us it was really making sure we had the right approach and the right method to launch it.”
Fils-Aime declined to say how the first round of Amiibo will see release. “We have nothing to announce at this point,” he said. He stated that the plan is to launch Amiibo at the same time as Super Smash Bros with “about 10” figures.
“We will continue to make new figures available through the balance of holiday 2014 and then we’re going to continuously launch new figures throughout 2015. For us, we’re not putting a numerical limit on how many varied figures we can launch. Our potential catalog of figures in the space is quite broad.”
He stated that’s because they’re based on Nintendo characters that have tremendous popularity.
“Even a figure like Marth, which, from a broad population, may not be well known but for that Smash playing audience, they know Marth. A lot of them enjoy playing as Marth. And then we believe that, given the lineup of figures, we’re going to have a more diverse ownership base, not only male and female (because of Peach and Yoshi that appeal to girls) but also from an aging up standpoint because people are going to want to collect Samus.
You’re going to have people who want to collect Link, all these fantastic characters. So we think our footprint is going to be much larger than what the other people in this space have been able to accomplish.”
One of the main differences that will separate Nintendo from Skylanders and Disney Infinity is that they will not release a standalone game. The Amiibo will work across many different games.
“What I would tell you is that we do believe the cross-game play is a big advantage for us. And having a Mario figure that could be potentially used in not only Smash Bros. but also in Mario Kart as well as in Mario Party 10. We think that’s a pretty strong competitive advantage.”
“The specifics of the gameplay will be unique to the game, and it is really up to the developer to program. So you will have a developer create a mechanism like what Mr. Sakurai is doing, where it really is a leveling up mechanic. And you’ll have other developers taking different approaches. You might have a developer decide, you know what, I want to reward someone who has purchased multiple Mario games, and that really has given Mario uber powers. That’s the way he’ll program it.”
If Nintendo can implement these figures correctly, they will be a success. People like to collect these figures, especially if they are characters that they love. Nintendo has many characters that people adore, and I am sure that many people would like to have a Samus or Link figure. I know I would love a Kirby or Zelda figurine.
The fact that Amiibo are being designed for use across multiple games could also be good for Nintendo. Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures can only be used in their respective games. If Nintendo finds good ways to implement these figures into their games, that could help encourage people to pick the figures up. I feel that Amiibo have a chance at being successful, but it all depends on how Nintendo uses them.


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PSA: H&M is about to give us the designer collaboration of our dreams.
On Saturday, Moschino Creative Director Jeremy Scott announced that the storied fashion label was planning a collaboration with the highly popular Swedish retailer, due out online and in stores on November 8. According to Vogue, prices will range from $25 to $300. And there's plenty to be had: The women's collection will be about 45 pieces—plus a ton of accessories.
Scott, who made the surprise announcement at Moschino's annual Coachella party, is widely known for his playful aesthetic that brings a distinguishable edge to the legendary Italian fashion house into his designs—primarily through his frequent incorporation of consumer icons, such as Barbie, My Little Pony, Hershey's, and McDonald's.
Here's the first look at the upcoming collection—both Gigi Hadid (right) and Scott (left) are wearing pieces from it in this picture at the Moschino party.
"I am so excited about Moschino x H&M," Scott said in a statement. "My life’s work has been to connect with people through fashion, and with this collaboration I’ll be able to reach more of my fans than I’ve ever had the ability to do."
Here's a glimpse of what showgoers typically see on a Scott runway—and backstage:


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Kallasvuo, who headed the Finnish company in 2006-2010, when it was the world leading cellphone maker, told The Associated Press he aims to promote an operating system for interactive TV sets on a global scale.
He says in an interview Thursday that the market includes 650 million customers who are increasingly using TVs to connect to the Internet.
He noted “the market of operating the software for the set-top boxes and TVs is extremely fragmented.”
Zenterio, launched in 2002, said former Sony Ericsson CTO Mats Lindoff has been named chief technical officer. Based in Stockholm, its customers include TV operators, global systems integrators, TV and set-top box manufacturers and chip makers.
By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Contributions to the Communities Sports desk from readers.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
NRA kicks off annual convention
California wildfires wreak havoc


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Have Aldi and Lidl pulled the EDLP rug out from under the big four’s feet?
For so long the champions of everyday low pricing (EDLP), this Christmas the big four supermarkets have been shown a clean of pair of heels as the discounters of Aldi and Lidl have stolen significant market share, writes Tim Downs, director at Aberfield Communications in Leeds.
At best the experts are predicting that Asda will have held their own and at worst, as with Tesco and Morrisons, will have seen a significant drop – 2.6 per cent and 5.6 per cent in year-on-year sales for the six week Christmas period.
It was only Sainsbury’s that bucked the trend and actually overtook Asda in sales for the four weeks to January 5th - the first time since 2003.
These percentage points might not seem like a big deal but to put them in perspective, a one per cent drop in market share in the UK represents around £1billion. So with Aldi’s sales growing by 26.3 per cent and Lidl’s by 17.2 per cent, have they got something right or are the big four getting things wrong?
The first thing to acknowledge is that the supermarkets are scared – particularly those that have built their brand on price and not value. Already Morrisons have responded to shareholder pressure with a proposed £800million sale and leaseback on its property empire, and Asda introduced its 50p everyday essentials range hoping to win back consumers with trusted British brands.
But are these sticking plaster measures just masking the deeper issue that the territory supermarkets have traditionally played in, with their price match promises and guarantees, is no longer theirs to own.
Consumers have realised that the big four are no longer the cheapest place to buy their weekly shop. They have already realised that the ‘discounters’ have come a long way in improving their image as well as their range. Six or seven years ago I got into an argument with the head of a major food manufacturer over calling Aldi a discounter when he insisted they were a lifestyle brand. I’ve finally come round to his way of thinking (I was still right at the time).
Looking back at the festive period, this shift allowed UK shoppers to save money on essentials so that they could spend on extra-special items to help celebrate a proper family Christmas. Which is why Waitrose had such a good trading period and Sainsbury’s, the only one of the big four to focus on quality over price, also did so well.
But what does this mean for the likes of Asda, Tesco and Morrisons? To my mind it means some pretty major changes in brand strategy. The last two or three years has seen the big four really morph into one another. You just choose yellow, green, blue or orange based on your preference. They are now going to need re-establish their own identities and what they stand for.
Tesco is potentially the most secure as it is already some way down the road of diversifying its offer. With everything from Blinkbox to Tesco Law and the hudl tablet, it’s arguably as well known for its wider services these days as it is for grocery.
Asda could take the traditional Walmart approach and go toe-to-toe on price. But any discounts they offer will need to be passed on to an increasingly squeezed supply chain and, with a policy of buying British, that won’t go down well with consumers. They are also following Tesco in product diversification, but they need to find a proposition that works harder with consumers and delivers more than just ‘look we’re cheaper than the other three’.
Morrisons are in a similarly risky position, with the even greater threat that they still haven’t got online or home delivery services fully running and are also slow in to the growing convenience sector. Where Morrisons made their ground on the other supermarkets previously was in fresh produce, expertise (there’s a butcher in every store) and provenance and this remains a defendable position, at least against Aldi and Lidl.
So ultimately, yes Aldi and Lidl have stolen EDLP and with it market share, which means we can expect an aggressive response from the big four but hopefully with it one that also delivers greater choice and diversity for consumers.
Tim Downs is a director of Aberfield Communications in Leeds.


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Vancouver, WA: EventBuilder, a Microsoft Teams webinar software and service solutions provider, celebrates their sixth anniversary as a women-run business and its first year as a certified women-owned company.
With only 15% of tech companies having a female CEO, EventBuilder’s all female C-suite makes them one of the few woman-owned tech companies and the only women-led virtual events technology software and services provider.
In 2016, EventBuilder’s women-led leadership team—CEO Lauren Meyer, COO Renee Conlee, and CTO Robin Houser—rescued a then-floundering business and implemented a “people-first” focus, adding employee-centered policies and positioning the company to provide best-in-class solutions for virtual events.
“We believe that a commitment to intentional relationships creates alignment and success,” says Lauren Meyer, CEO at EventBuilder. “When purchasing the company, we shifted focus from profits to people because we truly care about our employees and our clients.”
With more than 10,000 online searches for women-owned businesses last month, organizations with women leaders are gaining ground. Yet, only 4 in 10 companies are owned by women, with 50% of those owned by women of color. The tech industry has lagged behind these trends despite the overwhelming evidence that women-run private tech companies achieve 35% higher ROI than their male-run counterparts.
Since 2016, EventBuilder’s all-female leadership has implemented initiatives and reached several milestones, including:
- Pivoting the company to a “people-first” endeavor, exemplifying EventBuilder’s core value: Compassion for customers, fellow team members, and themselves.
- Providing an hour of paid time per day for employees to support their children’s online schooling during the pandemic.
- An ongoing commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, creating products designed to provide an optimal experience for everyone and compliance with web content accessibility guidelines.
- Achieving ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management System) and ISO 27001 (Security Information Management System) certifications to safeguard their customer’s privacy with standardized best practices.
About EventBuilder: EventBuilder is a webinar software and services company providing customized solutions for extending Microsoft Teams’ virtual events functionality. It is a women-owned, women-run company with an all-female C-Suite that embodies its mission statement: Empower individuals to use compassion and integrity to improve themselves and their work, benefit customers, and allow the company to thrive.


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SALEM, Ohio — Some say if you have farming in your blood, you just can’t get away from it.
For Doug Woolf, that’s exactly what happened.
“Once farming is in your family and your heart, it’s hard to get it out,” said Woolf.
Woolf grew up on a dairy farm in Columbiana County, Ohio. When he graduated from high school, his parents, Buster and Jeanne Woolf sold the cattle and moved into the fruit production business.
Meanwhile, Woolf graduated college and began a teaching career. He moved to North Carolina and taught for nine years.
However, something kept pulling him back home. He would come home at every chance he could, just to be back on the farm working.
Then, due to budget cuts, his teaching job was eliminated.
About that time, his grandparents decided they wanted to retire, and put their operation, Vincent’s Orchards, up for sale.
Woolf decided that was his next step.
Not looking back
He purchased the 116-acre farm and returned to Salem three years ago with his wife, Noelle. They now have a son, Elijah, who is 2.
He hasn’t looked back.
Woolf now grows over 30 acres of apples, 5 acres of strawberries, one acre of plums, five acres of peaches and between 10 and 15 acres of sweet corn.
His grandparents, Jack and Bonnie Vincent, started the orchard two years after getting married, and now share their 50 years of fruit produce experience with Woolf.
“It’s been a successful farm for my grandparents and it continues to be,” said Woolf.
Woolf didn’t wait to get started since the orchard was already producing product. The farm produced mostly heirloom variety apples with very few side crops.
Woolf has expanded the farm’s crops, and now Morning Dew Orchards produces 33 varieties of apples, many of which commercial orchards don’t grow anymore.
He also introduced the spindle system on the farm. When this system is used, the trees are planted only 3 feet apart and develop like a trellis system similar to grape vines. The spindle lines help cut down on labor and spray. There is less area to spray and the labor costs are decreased when it comes to harvest time.
Morning Dew Orchards also offers sweet corn, peaches, blueberries, asparagus, pears, plums and cherries for sale.
Also Woolf has developed into a pick-your-own strawberry site. This year, he has five acres but expects to harvest 10 acres in 2013.
In addition, Woolf is trying to keep some of the orchard’s heirloom apples from disappearing. Ohio’s official apple, the Melrose apple, is also grown on the farm. It has been produced for almost 50 years and it continues from the original stock using grafting.
“This allows you to get the variety you want and to get it growing much faster,” said Woolf.
Woolf explained that to continue the orchard’s own line of apples, his grandfather grafts Melrose apple into the orchard’s stock. The farm also takes heirloom quality Honey Crisp apple trees and grafts them to keep them going.
“As a farmer, you’re a little bit of a scientist, trying to figure out what works for you. We’re trying new things all the time,” said Woolf.
Woolf also takes advantage of controlled atmosphere technology available through the GreenStar Co-op, in Greenford, Ohio. He stores his apples in the co-op’s CA storage, which involves careful control of temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide and humidity. He said some years, depending on demand, he can have apples all year long with the new technology.
The airtight room where the apples are kept is sealed in the fall to slow the ripening process, and they open it in January. Apple producers can then open the room up every six weeks after that.
This year, the fruit trees and strawberries were in bloom early, but the weather is always a fear for Woolf.
“In this business, everything is determined by the weather,” said Woolf.
He added that his farm is in a good location. It has a good elevation, which makes a big difference when it comes to spotty frost. He said the late frost in May did some damage, but looking at the blossoms and fruits forming, he feels there will be a lot of apples for 2012.
Woolf said it can be trying to grow fruits and vegetables due to the level of dependence on the weather. However, he finds many benefits over his teaching career. He said he gets to work outside and he enjoys attending farmers’ markets.
“I enjoy talking to customers and it is fulfilling knowing people enjoy my product,” Woolf said. “However, what is most fulfilling is to the crop on the tree year after year. It is so satisfying when you get that first taste of the season.”
Woolf said there is an outcry from some consumers for apples that have old-fashioned taste. The other complaint is that people who live in larger populated areas have little access to fresh fruits.
“They want the farm to come to them. We bring a quality product to them and that’s what they like,” said Woolf.
The earliest apple variety, the Yellow Transparent, will be available at Morning Dew Orchards around July 15.
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Here's how much the graduates of top business schools made across industries, including signing bonuses
Business school is an investment, but students who graduated in 2021 from the top universities in the world secured solid six-figure salaries.
The median salary for 2021 graduates of Stern was $155,000 and the majority of students entered consulting or financial services.
'Dr. Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini warns the global economy is barreling towards stagflation — and central banks face an impossible challenge
The NYU Stern professor pointed to the hype around crypto, meme stocks, SPACs, and retail trading as evidence of excessive demand.
Finance professor Aswath Damodaran warns investors not to get cocky, dismisses bitcoin as a currency or store of value, and blasts the Fed in a new interview. Here are the 11 best quotes.
The "Dean of Valuation" also discusses Tesla's prospects, trumpets "big tech" companies, and criticizes Warren Buffett's recent track record.
These guides will give you the inside scoop on how schools such as Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton sift through applicants and help you stand out.
Airbnb IPO will get treated better by the market than before the pandemic as competition gets 'handicapped' by crisis, Prof Damodaran says
"These capital-light companies are being rewarded because their competition is being so badly punished by this crisis," Damodaran said.
A market-crash expert known as 'Dr. Doom' warns a 10-year depression is coming — and says investors are far too confident about a possible recovery
"There's going to be a painful process of deleveraging, both by the corporate sector and the household sector," said Nouriel Roubini.
How to get into the NYU Stern School of Business, according to 6 students and the executive director of MBA admissions
Notable graduates of the school include Charlie Scharf, the CEO of Wells Fargo, and Dan Schulman, the president and CEO of PayPal.
NYU Professor of Marketing Scott Galloway explains who is affected most by WeWork’s postponed IPO, between J.P. Morgan and SoftBank.
Scott Galloway on how Amazon will soon be "the fastest-growing healthcare company in the world" and more predictions at IGNITION 2018.
Announcing IGNITION 2018 speakers: Don't miss Mark Cuban, Sir Martin Sorrell, Danica Patrick, Troy Carter, and more!
Prepare for the year ahead with insights from today’s brightest minds. This year's IGNITION lineup is packed with top executives from some of the hottest tech startups and innovative corporate enterprises.
Scott Galloway will return to the IGNITION stage in 2018 after giving a blistering presentation last year on why Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google should be broken up
Hear more biting commentary and insightful analysis from popular IGNITION speaker Scott Galloway when he returns to the stage in 2018.


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A recent survey of EV installers in the UK, carried out by charge point management platform Fuuse, found OZEV grant applications to be the biggest hurdle installers are facing, and may be hindering EV rollout despite the aim to incentivise it.
Over half of respondents claimed that the complexity of applying for and reclaiming the government grants were posing a challenge. 40% said the process for the Homecharge scheme – which is due to scale back next month - was difficult to navigate, with over 10% calling for the OZEV schemes to be scrapped altogether. Requesting too much information, manual paperwork and lengthy payment delays were cited as the main pain points with the current application process.
James Harding, founder of the UK EV Installers community, shares his views in the Fuuse report:
“Whilst EV installation is, on the face of it, a profitable and high growth...


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EvoNexus Incubator Transforms CommNexus as SD Startup Scene Grows
After 16 EvoNexus startups made short presentations at a Demo Day in San Diego last week, the big news was perhaps not that the audience voted Sonic VR as “champion,” or that CEO Jason Riggs left afterward for an EvoNexus-hosted dinner with a dozen investors.
What was arguably more impressive is how EvoNexus is becoming a rally point for the tech community in San Diego, which was evident in the size of the crowd that came to hear the startups pitch their plans Thursday evening. The event just keeps growing. For its third Demo Day, EvoNexus moved the event from its downtown office to a 295-seat auditorium at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management. It sold out days in advance, and still there was standing room only.
EvoNexus operates as a free incubator (with “no strings attached”) for tech startups in San Diego and Orange County, and it is becoming a big deal here. The caliber of the startups coming out of the EvoNexus program is clearly improving—the teams have more serial entrepreneurs, seasoned CEOs, and technology PhDs—and the quality of the volunteers advising EvoNexus teams has also taken a quantum leap.
Sonic VR, the audience favorite, was founded seven months ago with proprietary technology for creating three-dimensional, high-fidelity audio. It might be the biggest innovation in headphones since Bose introduced its noise-cancelling technology. CTO Joy Lyons was previously the manager of acoustic systems engineering at Swiss device maker Logitech, and CEO Jason Riggs was an engineering manager at Logitech and Pioneer Electronics, and worked as a senior product manager for such companies as Mojo Pages, Active Network, and Qualcomm.
More importantly, some of San Diego’s most successful technology executives are getting involved as mentors and angel investors—people like EcoATM co-founder Mark Bowles and former CEO Tom Tully, former Qualcomm engineering VP Craig Lauer, ViaSat CTO Steve Hart, and former Cricket Wireless strategy chief Bill Ingram.
Such factors help explain why applications for this spring’s EvoNexus program jumped by 40 percent over last fall’s round, from 150 to 212. An EvoNexus spokesman says they are looking to admit 20 to 25 startups at its two San Diego incubators (downtown and University City) and eight companies at the new EvoNexus incubator near U.C. Irvine, which began admitting startups in December.
It would be premature to compare EvoNexus to the elite accelerator programs like Y Combinator or Techstars. But the EvoNexus juggernaut has gained so much momentum over the past year or so that CommNexus, the nonprofit industry group that founded EvoNexus in 2009, changed its name to EvoNexus last month. “It just became one of those things where the brand became so powerful, especially as we expanded into Orange County,” says EvoNexus CEO Rory Moore.
According to Moore, the EvoNexus program has become a great attractor for strategic partners like Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), ViaSat (NASDAQ: VSAT), and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO). All three provide substantial financial support for EvoNexus, as well as seed-stage funding for EvoNexus tech startups that align with their respective technology roadmaps. Dozens of other technology companies, banks, commercial real estate firms, and service providers also have stepped up to support the incubator, and to get an inside track on the innovative technologies and startups incubating there.
In fact, sponsorship revenue for the EvoNexus incubator has grown so strongly that Moore says he’s changed the business model for the nonprofit industry group, so it no longer relies primarily on the revenue generated from local events. In short, the EvoNexus incubator has become the centerpiece of the industry group’s operations, its primary method for generating revenue, and an engine for expanding the tech startup ecosystem in San Diego and Irvine, CA.
Here’s a rundown of the EvoNexus companies that presented at Demo Day:
Sonic VR, which was voted “Demo Day Pitch Champion” by the audience, has developed headphone technology that adapts to the anatomy of the listener’s ears and transmits realistic 3D audio, so a video game player in a virtual reality world can hear noises behind them.


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Federal prosecutors in California have filed criminal charges against four employees of Adconion Direct, an email advertising firm, alleging they unlawfully hijacked vast swaths of Internet addresses and used them in large-scale spam campaigns. KrebsOnSecurity has learned that the charges are likely just the opening salvo in a much larger, ongoing federal investigation into the company’s commercial email practices.
Peter Yuryevich Levashov, a 37-year-old Russian computer programmer thought to be one of the world’s most notorious spam kingpins, has been extradited to the United States to face federal hacking and spamming charges.
Levashov, who allegedly went by the hacker name “Peter Severa,” or “Peter of the North,” hails from St. Petersburg in northern Russia, but he was arrested last year while in Barcelona, Spain with his family.
Authorities have long suspected he is the cybercriminal behind the once powerful spam botnet known as Waledac (a.k.a. “Kelihos”), a now-defunct malware strain responsible for sending more than 1.5 billion spam, phishing and malware attacks each day.
I recently heard from a source in law enforcement who had a peculiar problem. The source investigates cybercrime, and he was reaching out for advice after trying but failing to conduct undercover buys of stolen credit cards from a well-known underground card market. Turns out, the cybercrime bazaar’s own security system triggered a “pig alert” and brazenly flagged the fed’s transactions as an undercover purchase placed by a law enforcement officer.
If you receive an email this holiday season asking you to “confirm” an online e-commerce order or package shipment, please resist the urge to click the included link or attachment: Malware purveyors and spammers are blasting these missives by the millions each day in a bid to trick people into giving up control over their computers and identities.
Greetings from sunny Austin, Texas, where I’m getting ready to wrap up a week-long book tour that began in New York City, then blazed through Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle. I’ve been trying to tweet links to various media interviews about Spam Nation over the past week, but wanted to offer a more comprehensive account and to share some highlights of the tour
A quick update on my new book, Spam Nation, The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime — From Global Epidemic to Your Front Door: Amazon has named it to their “Best Books of the Month” picks for November. In addition, my publisher has graciously extended the free ZeusGard offer until Nov. 25 for the next 500 people who order more than one copy of the book.
In the interests of full disclosure: Sourcebooks, the company that on Nov. 18 is publishing my upcoming book about organized cybercrime, disclosed last week that a breach of its Web site shopping cart software may have exposed customer credit card and personal information.
Fortunately, this breach does not affect readers who have pre-ordered Spam Nation through the retailers I’ve been recommending — Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Politics & Prose. I mention this breach mainly to get out in front of it, and because of the irony and timing of this unfortunate incident.
As many of you know, my first book — Spam Nation — hits bookstore shelves on Nov. 18. I want to thank those of you who have already pre-ordered the book, and offer a small enticement for those who have yet to secure a copy.


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[Letter to the editor]Unwarranted pessimism on AmericaI’m writing in response to Joseph Schouweiler’s July 20 column, titled “America’s Best Days Are Behind It.” His column made a shallow argument based on a lazily skeptical view of America’s economy without offering any possible solutions.
Schouweiler makes his argument about America’s impending decline based on its loss of manufacturing jobs and its growing trade deficit, but he makes significant omissions regarding these trends. What he fails to mention regarding America’s loss of manufacturing jobs is that giving America’s companies the freedom to move jobs overseas allows those companies to grow at a greater rate and compete in the global economy.
The cheap overseas labor used to manufacture goods sold in America keeps prices low, which keeps inflation low and makes America more attractive for investors. With greater investment comes greater potential for innovation, making the United States a more welcoming place for bright young minds.
Regarding the growing trade deficit, Schouweiler overlooks the self-correcting mechanism built into the trade deficit. As the deficit grows, more American currency gets put on the market, thereby increasing inflation and lowering the value of the currency. A cheaper currency lowers purchasing power and leads to decreased imports. It also makes exports cheaper and more competitive overseas, making America’s trade account more balanced.
Instead of mourning the loss of America’s manufacturing jobs or its trade deficit, economically responsible politicians should be encouraging governments to make their central banks truly independent and stop rigging their currency markets to serve short-term political goals. Undervalued currencies like those of China and Japan throw global markets out of balance and make it harder for the aforementioned self-correcting mechanism to take effect. They are not in the best long-term interests of any country.
It worries me that someone like Schouweiler is a professor who has the power to shape young minds. Hopefully he presents more complete arguments in the classroom than he did in your newspaper.
Mike Mackenna, Yongin, Gyeonggi


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Eastman Kodak (Rochester, N.Y.), a manufacturer of imaging-related products, has developed an online neural network-based machine vision system for surface mount solder paste inspection. Caere (Los Gatos, Calif.), a provider of neural network-based optical character recognition (OCR) technology, has signed an agreement to supply IBM Ireland with OCR Readers for AN POST, Ireland's national postal service. Using a handheld wand, postal employees will be able to scan text and read bar codes from anywhere on a document. BrainTech (Scottsdale, Ariz.), a developer of neural network and fuzzy logic-based pattern recognition technologies, has signed a development agreement with Raven (Alexandria, Va.), a developer of acoustic systems for the U.S. Navy. BrainTech will integrate its pattern-matching recognition engine into Raven's new medical diagnostic systems.
Market researchers face pressure to produce better results at faster speeds. Can AI help them meet this challenge? We usually hail the near-instant availability of information as a good thing, but it has its drawbacks. People are used to having their needs fulfilled almost on command. In this environment, waiting for anything -- even high-quality research -- can feel like an imposition.
Honda showed off a slick new Sports EV concept at the Tokyo Motor Show earlier this week, but the automaker's most charming future-forward design to debut at the event isn't something you'll ever take for a drive. The Japanese company unveiled the RoboCas concept, an all-electric, self-driving cargo robot that looks like the offspring of the bot couple from Disney's WALL-E. I mean, just look at this thing. There's not a ton of information about the RoboCas concept in terms of specs, so we don't know how long its battery might last or what type of system enables the self-driving functionality beyond a reference to "Honda's autonomous mobility technology." Honda instead described the bot as a companion that was "born to make each person's ideas and dreams come true."
Fox Firepower: Defense Specialist Allison Barrie shares her top picks of high-tech military vehicles on display at AUSA 2017 including a fuel-cell powered Chevy truck and a self-driving Polaris MRZR. Armored vehicles with laser weapons, silent motorcycles that can run on jet fuel, self-driving ATVs and futuristic Chevy trucks - there were a lot of eye-popping vehicles in the nation's capital this week. Another JLTV featured the Boeing Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) Launcher including a M3P .50 JLTV General Purpose equipped with Rafael Samson RWS Dual Stabilized Remote Weapon Systems with M230 LF, and the Trophy Light Active Protection System. This new General Motors prototype, known as the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2, runs on hydrogen fuel cells.
It has a passenger-carrying air taxi, called the SureFly, which combines the company's expertise in partially automated operation, from its drone business, and in hybrid-electric propulsion, from its truck business. One way to make it happen is with SureFly's computer flight system, similar to many of the electronic safety features in today's more advanced cars. "Since it's classified as a light-sport craft," Burns says, "it only takes 20 hours of [pilot] training. Helicopter training is 1500 hours."
Robots are already a familiar sight for surgeons in many operating rooms, but there is a good chance that artificial intelligence will eventually render its human colleagues obsolete. By 2053, artificial intelligence is likely to be smart enough and skilled enough to embark on a surgical career of its own.
The US company, Orbital Insight, is using AI to analyze satellite images and identify and quantify crude oil storage tanks. The tanks have floating roofs, so the volume of oil is visible. Orbital Insight is using shadow-detection technology and calculates how full a storage tank is by the size of the crescent-shaped shadow on the tank roof.
She is currently in the NYC Data Science Academy 12 week full time Data Science Bootcamp pr... taking place between April 11th to July 1st, 2016. This post is based on her third class project - Web Scraping, due on the 6th week of the program. Oil prices have fallen sharply since the summer of 2014. Prices bottomed in February 2016, since then they have gradually increased. While the breakeven cost is a popular topic among investors, on the consumer side gasoline prices are very cheap.
Apple FINALLY reveals the cause of its iPhone 6s'unexpected shutdown' bug - but only on its Chinese website The issue has seen some iPhone 6s devices powering down unexpectedly It affects a relatively small batch of the devices manufactured last year Apple is blaming the flaw on a battery component that was exposed to'ambient air' during the manufacturing process for longer than intended Apple is blaming the flaw on a battery component that was exposed to'ambient air' during the manufacturing process for longer than intended Apple has finally revealed the details behind a technical glitch that saw some iPhone 6s handsets shutting down unexpectedly. Creepy life-like sex robots modelled on Hollywood... Now Apple invests in driverless cars: Firm finally admits... Watch the world's biggest cities evolve: Google's timelapse... Is this Amazon's top-secret delivery drone? Creepy life-like sex robots modelled on Hollywood... Now Apple invests in driverless cars: Firm finally admits... Watch the world's biggest cities evolve: Google's timelapse... Is this Amazon's top-secret delivery drone? An Apple information website based in Japan said the company might have plans to bring out a'pure white' or'jet white' version of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The website cited the source as a'supplier'.
Knowing where the consumer is spending is normally not public information. Google Trends tracks the frequency of terms searched on their website and reports it as an index. Although web search terms are not a guarantee that a purchase was made, it's a good insight into the consumer's thoughts. And a great indication of when and where advertising companies should advertise. Could there be a possible relationship between some web search terms and gasoline prices?


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There Is Hope for the Final Fantasy VII Remake
Since the Final Fantasy VII Remake was announced back in 2015, fans have been eagerly awaiting news. Unfortunately, most of the information on the game’s development has been less than assuring. But despite moving development from third-party studio CyberConnect2 to in-house at Square Enix and job listings for “core members” that suggests a tumultuous creation process, the game’s director Tetsuya Nomura claims that things are going well.
In a recent interview with Famitsu, Nomura touched on mistaken information that suggested that the remake development wasn’t progressing and would begin after Kingdom Hearts 3.
“There’s been some misinformation regarding Final Fantasy VII Remake in some parts of the Internet so I wanted to touch up on that a little,” he said. “That [speculation] is not official. As I said during E3, development is going favourably. I just wanted to say that the current PR priority is Kingdom Hearts III […] but after that it’ll be Final Fantasy VII Remake, so please don’t worry.”
It appears that Nomura was previously speaking about PR activities and his comments were taken out of context.
As of now, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has no fixed release date.


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You may have read that the coronavirus pandemic’s biggest impact, in terms of the fashion industry, will be on the independent labels and young designers. But do you know what that really looks like? For Anglo-Franco design duo Imogen Wright and Vincent Le Chapelain, the pandemic resulted in 70 per cent of their autumn/winter 2020 orders being cancelled.
Like many others, they closed the doors to their studio a week ahead of lockdown and left London, decamping to Imogen’s remote family home in the south Devon countryside. It could have spelled the end for their fledgling business – last month, the British Fashion Council predicted that 35 per cent or more of designer labels will collapse before the end of lockdown. Certainly, at first, things looked bad. But there is one element of their business which was a fundamental saviour: their dedication to sustainability.
Once considered a mere bonus on a fashion label’s list of credentials, rather than a necessity, Wright Le Chapelain’s sustainable principles have proved a vital lifeline that may have secured the fledgling label’s future. Whereas other designers have struggled to get shipments from Asia, or worried about their overreliance on shuttered Italian factories and mills, Wright Le Chapelain’s approach to home-grown fabrics, local production and I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-new upcycling has been a saving grace, allowing them to produce the 30 per cent of orders that still stood. It’s a poignant indication that fashion can survive because of environmentally-friendly practice, not just in spite of it.


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Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings has posted a long write up on net neutrality on the company's blog today, discussing recent peering agreements and saying "a stronger form of net neutrality is required." This follows a peering agreement the company entered into with Comcast to improve its service for customers.
It seems like everytime that I turn around Netflix is announcing a new original series. I like that the company is constantly adding new original content to its lineup. Netflix has the very popular House of Cards original series. It also recently announced a new series From Dusk Till Dawn and another new series is in the works based on Pablo Escobar.
Word about an Amazon set top box has abounded for many months, with word surfacing in April of last year that a STB was in the works, followed by a more recent tip that the device will launch this month, a change from the previously anticipated holiday season arrival. Now sources have surfaced saying the box will include apps for competitors' offerings, including Netflix.
House of Cards, the popular Netflix original that snubbed HBO for the Internet video streaming service, will soon be available to Comcast Xfinity subscribers who don't have a Netflix account. Such is the result of a recent deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, which handles certain elements of the show's distribution.
Netflix has planned a new thirteen-episode series revolving around the legendary drug lord Pablo Escobar. Essaying the Colombian dealer is Wagner Moura and to direct him, RoboCop remake director Jose Padilha has been roped in. As reported in the Brazilian magazine Folha de Sao Paulo, Moura will be shooting the series both in English and Spanish.
Today the entirety of the current collection of Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated episodes is ready for devouring on Netflix. This is part of an initiative in which Netflix will also push the next chapter of Star Wars’ animated series with "Rebels", here sticking with the full 6-year series in full. Most seasons work with the same amount of episodes, starting with the first season from 2008 with 22 episodes at full length.
Netflix is steadily building up its library of original programs and many of them are of the same quality, if not better, than what you can watch on normal network TV. Fans of vampire shows will be excited to hear that Netflix has a new original program coming to its subscribers. The program is Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn: A Netflix Original Series.
At the request of users, GameFly, the video game rental service, is going toe-to-toe with Netflix, taking the wraps off its new movie rental service. GameFly subscribers were introduced to the service today, and can now nab Blu-ray and DVD movie disc rentals in the same way customers rented from Netflix in its earlier days.
Any Netflix user will know there are times you doze off mid-show or movie, leaving it to continue playing after you've stopped watching -- an annoying reality that results in fast-forwarding through a show for the spot you fell asleep the next time you want to watch it. In the company's latest Hack Day, five Netflix engineers developed a solution.


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Steve Blank, serial entrepreneur and Stanford consulting associate professor, explains his customer development methodology, which helps startups find a sustainable, repeatable business model faster. He appeared at the E-Provocateur speaker series hosted by the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business on October 23, 2012.
Learn more about the Business Model Canvas: https://mywants.biz/startup/create-business-model/
Learn more about Steve Blank: http://engineering.stanford.edu/profi…
Learn more about the Stanford Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES): http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/ces


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Planning your stress-free and special Thanksgiving dinner in an untraditional year
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Thanksgiving 2020 may look different for many families, due to COVID-19, including trends like smaller gatherings and more at-home celebrations, according to a new Harris Poll gauging how Americans plan to celebrate everything from Thanksgiving to the New Year.
Navigating holiday entertaining is likely to be a challenge, as many first-time cooks prepare Thanksgiving meals without the benefit of others helping. Americans overwhelmingly want to celebrate holiday “food traditions”, but know they might look different this year.
Food Network star, Le Cordon Bleu trained chef and TV personality David Rose joined NewsChannel 7 at 4 on Friday to help prepare us for stress-free holiday entertaining.
Chef Rose shared his top tips, easy-to-prep meal suggestions and even fun ways to create virtual gatherings with family and friends. Here are some of the tips he offered:
- Manage the Menu – Chef Rose started with tips for advance menu preparation and planning, including tips on food quantities for a potentially scaled-back gathering
- Turkey Tips – Chef Rose had a demonstration on top tips and tricks for the perfect turkey dishes
- Additional Dishes – Chef Rose discussed all-things-extra for a memorable meal
- Exclusive Recipes – Chef Rose shared his favorite new recipes created exclusively for Omaha Steaks
Find more information at: OmahaSteaks.com
Copyright 2020 WSAW. All rights reserved.


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Microsoft delays Mac Office update
'The quality just wasn't where we wanted it to be'
Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Microsoft Corp. says it will be forced to delay Office 2008 for Mac, the next version of its productivity suite for Apple Inc. computers, until early next year.
The company had been planning to release the product this year. But a recent development review showed that "the quality just wasn't where we wanted it to be," said Craig Eisler, who became general manager of Microsoft's Mac Business Unit in June.
A variety of factors have complicated the development, including Apple's switch to Intel processors and Microsoft's change to a new Office file format, Eisler said.
Eisler described it as a "perfect storm of very large changes," and said he would not anticipate any similar delay in the future, once the Mac Business Unit makes it through the transition.
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He declined to disclose the financial effect of missing the holiday shopping season. It will be available in time for the Macworld Expo in January, he said.
Microsoft is the largest software developer for Mac outside of Apple. Although the Macintosh market is much smaller than the Windows PC market, Microsoft's Mac Business Unit also benefits from increasing sales of Apple computers.
Apple said last week that Mac shipments were up 33 percent, hitting a new record of 1.76 million units sold for the quarter.
Microsoft's commitment to making Office for Mac has been a subject of questions among some Mac users, given the competition between the companies on other fronts. In a deal announced with Apple last year, Microsoft agreed to continue making Office for Mac for at least five more years.
Among other things, Office for Mac lets people switching from Windows continue using Word, Excel and other programs.
Microsoft hasn't announced pricing for Office 2008 for Mac. Editions of Office 2004 for Mac range from $149 to $399.
Features of the new Office 2008 for Mac will include an "Elements Gallery" that will let people switch among different sets of tools and features using tabs across the top of the window, rather than drop-down menus.


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So many tiny pieces of videogame news have emerged over the last day or so, but despite their relative size…
Wow, this is amazing! The original bullet-time featuring, film-noir style storyline action adventure game, Max Payne, is now available on…
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