USDA invests $136m to encourage next gen biofuels - Biofuels International

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USDA invests $136m to encourage next gen biofuels Biofuels International The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $136 million (€100 million) in five major agricultural research projects. These schemes will help further establish renewable energy markets in the US, and reduce the nation's reliance on imported ... and more »

Law Enforcement Agencies in San Diego, South El Monte and San Francisco Receive In-Car Printers From AMBER Ready Foundation

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June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- In association with the AMBEfReady 30-City Child Safety last week the AMBER Readyy Foundation donated Jotto desk computer mounts and in-car printers to local law enforcement agenciew in San Diego and San Francisco, as well as to the City of Southg El Monte (a suburb of Los Angeles). This new equipmen will empower public safety officers to instantly print posters from their police patrol cars to assist in the immediate search for childrenreportecd missing. Used with the new AMBER Readyu Program, officers will have the essential tools necessary to reduce the time needede to put a missingh childon alert.
During last week's tour stops, AMBER Ready hosted a series of child safety eventa ineach community, providin g parents and child guardians with chilfd and Internet safety tips, as well as traininhg sessions for law enforcement and city officials on how to improver their response to missing child incidents. Featured speakers included AMBER Read CEO and program Kai D. Patterson ; AMBER Ready Seniofr Vice President and the former Director of Publicv Safety for Bergen New Jersey, ; and Interney safety expert, .
Participants were also introduced to the AMBERReady Program, whichb provides parents with the technology to store and lock theie children's vital identity information, including photographs, in theidr cell phones. In the eventg the child should go with the click of a button on the cell the child's profile and picture can be sent immediateluy by law enforcement to police communications, patrol other police agencies, the media and the AMBEt Alert Network. Published statistics show that 797,500 childrej under the age of 18 were reportex missing ina one-year period of time studied by the U.S. Departmentg of Justice, resulting in an average of 2,18t children reported missing each day.
Everty 40 seconds, a child is reportesd missing in theUnited States. What'x more troubling is that 73% of violeny crimes against children that are reported missingy occur within the first three hours oftheirr disappearance; 99% occur within the first four hours. according to the NCMEC, therr are more than 100,000 registered sex offendersa and child predators that are unaccounterd for inthe U.S. under Megan's Law. What's more alarmingy is the fact that if abducted by a the statistics reflect that a child will likelhy be murdered if not found within the first three hours ofbeing abducted.
If a childe is not AMBER Ready, it may take up to four hourd for a parent to confirm a child is missing and to collecty essential identification information to supply policse with what is necessary to launcha search. Theree is no longer any reason that parents should give predator s intent on harming our kids thishead start. When AMBER police can react instantaneously by transmitting an alery froma parent's wireless phone, thus improvinf the odds that their child will be found by authorities and safely returned The last stop on this leg of the AMBER Readh 30-City Child Safety Tour is Sacramento.
WHEN: June 15, 2009 WHERE: Hyatt Regency Hote l 1209 L Street Sacramento, California Registration - 6:00 PM PT - 7:00 PM PT Prograjm - 7:00 PM PT - 9:00 PM PT AMBER Read y will resumeits cross-country Child Safetyt Tour in early September, with the next stop schedulesd for Portland, Oregon. A revised itinerary with applicables cities and dates will be published within the next 30 Patterson noted, "Since first launching the tour in mid-May, we have traveledc to 13 cities around the country and met with thousandx of parents, city officials and law enforcemenr personnel - all of whom enthusiasticallt support AMBER Ready's mission to enhance the level of awareneszs relating to the availabilitt of advanced technology and its use to help dramaticallhy reduce the time it takess to access critical information on a missing chilc and mobilize a search and recoveryy effort.
We look forward to kicking off the second phase of the tour in with plans to travelto Washington, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. About AMBER Ready, Inc. AMBEd Ready, Inc. has pioneered the nation's first wireless programn enabling parents to securely storetheir child's identity information withinn their wireless phone and providing the technology platform for police to disseminatew an alert from a parents ' wireless phone immediately upon a child beingb abducted or found to be missing.
Through the wireless transmission of stored photographs and descriptive data by polic e asa Be-On-the-Look-Out (BOLO) or as an official AMBER the AMBER Ready Program is expected to dramaticallty reduce the average time between determininyg a child is missing and the commencemen t of a meaningful search by loca l law enforcement, thus significantly improving the odds for rapix recovery. In anticipation of pursuing a public listing inthe future, the Company has engaged the firm of John Thomase Financial as its investment banking For more information, please visift . SOURCE AMBER Ready, Inc.

Berkeley

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The projects are part of Berkeley’s move toward creatingh density, said Michael Caplan, Berkeley’s economic developmen t director. While residents ponder issues like globa l climate change andpopulatiom growth, developers are moving forward to brinv more housing near transportation centers and into its downtowh core. “I can’t think of a time when we’vee had so much constructiob going on,” Caplan said. “We’re seeing a numberf of genuinelyurban mixed-used projects that can help activated districts and bring in more residents.
” Among the new Hudson McDonald, a Berkeley-based developer, has crews working on a 148-unitr apartment complex that will include a Trader Joe’s on its ground The project, called the Old Grove, is at 1885 Universitty Ave., near the core of Berkeley’s downtowb area and close to SNK Realty’d Arpeggio, a 143-unit condominium tower comprised of nine stories that is also underd construction.
“We provide a placee to live, but where you reallyy live is inthe neighborhood,” said Chris Hudson, principal of Hudson McDonald, which has built more than 900 unitsd in Berkeley in the last 25 Also downtown, Freight and Salvage a performance venue specializing in folk and traditionalo music, is building a new 18,000-square-foot site that will make up part of Berkeley’z burgeoning arts district that also includew the and the . Freightr and Salvage expects to debut its new home this Besides downtown, West Berkeley, the industrial part of is beginning to see new activity as well.
Palo Alto-base is in the middle of constructinga 171-uni apartment building at the corner of Fourth Streef and University Avenue near Interstatde 80. The site, called 700 is close to an hub and an statioh as well as one ofthe city’xs major retail strips along Fourth “Berkeley is underserved with new (housing) product,” said John executive vice president of Essex. “Anrd we’re building out (our project) when costd are down. The cost to build now is significantl y lower than if we had built it twoyearzs ago.
” In addition to those projects, hotelierzs have poured about $40 million into revamping numerouz hotels, including Joie de Vivre’s which underwent a $9 million makeover, and Hotel a boutique hotel reopening this month aftee a $15 million Berkeley’s entitlement process remains notoriously tough and generally taking three years or more. But the completio of area plans around the city has opened the door by officiallg identifying what the city would welcomr and where it couldtake place.
Caplan said the new constructiom addresses several city agrowing population, its goal to decreasde global warming, avoiding sprawl and providing housing for lower-incomr workers who commute into the city. “Are we growinbg for the sake of growing? No,” he “A lot of peoplw who grew up here can’t find placesx to live. A lot of peoplw who live in the hills want to sell theitr homes andlive downtown. ... Densit can be good if it’s done right.” Berkeley remains a difficult placeto develop, Hudson said, but the market is typicall y strong and steady.
“Yoju have to have faith in the underlyingf value ofthe projects,” he “You also have to build projects that make

SoftBrands sold for $80M; Golden Gate Capital is buyer - Phoenix Business Journal:

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The buyer, a holding company created by private-equity firm and its portfolik company , will pay 92 centsd per share for SoftBrands. Shares of SoftBrands closed at 47 centws per shareon Thursday. On the same date in SoftBrands’ stock closed at 1.09 per share. San Calif.-based Golden Gate Capital has aboutg $9 billion in assets under Infor, based in Ga., is a software compan with about 9,000 employees and $2.2 billion in Minneapolis-based SoftBrands (AMEX: SBN) sellds software to the hospitality industry, as well as to smalo and mid-sized manufacturers under the brand. Its products handl tasks such as making reservations to settingroom rates.
SoftBrands CEO Randty Tofteland said in a press statement that the deal will alloaw shareholdersto “realize significant value from theier investment.” He also said the company would benefit from an “alliance” with A spokeswoman for Infor said SoftBrand s will continue to have a presencde in Minneapolis, though it has yet to be determinefd how many employees will remain here.
SoftBrands’ board has alreadyg approved the sale, which is expectedc to close in between 60 and90

State

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The bureau reported that Ohio’s real Gross Domestiv Product, which totals goods and services producedd and adjustedfor inflation, shrank 0.7 percentt last year after a 0.2 percent gain in 2007. The nationall GDP, by comparison, stayed in growth mode but slowecd toa 0.7 percent gain, down from 2 percent in 2007. Ohio last year stoosd as one of only 12 statews to see negative GDP growth and notchedthe sixth-deepesgt decline. The largest drop came in Alaska at 2 percentf on a decline inpetroleum extraction.
The bureauy attributed GDP contraction in the GreatLakese region, which includes Ohio and four neighboringb states, to declines in manufacturin g and construction along with the financr and insurance industries. Breaking down the state’z economic output per capita, Ohio’s real GDP stood at $33,56 8 last year, down from $33,829 in 2007. The state’ws per-capita GDP was ranked 32nd in the The nationalaverage per-capita GDP was $37,899 in compared with $37,967 the year the bureau said. Detailed tables on real GDP for Ohio and the natiojn are available for download byclicking .

Chic bar takes place of Chinatown dive - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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SoHo will open at 80 S. Pauahi Street in a renovated 5,500 square-foot space that will includde a bar and an area for live The PauahiStreet location, between Bethel Streetr and Fort Street Mall and near , was occupiede by Mall Cafe until That bar had been cited by the Honolulu Liquor Commissioh in recent months for unsanitary conditionxs and for overserving alcohol. The commissio also received a petitioj from community members opposing the renewal ofMall Cafe’ds license because of alleged drug dealing and frequent Mall Cafe’s former owner, Saiming Corp., had been tryinhg to transfer its liquor license to the landlord, Unionh Mill Investment.
SoHo owner Daniel Gray, forme general manager of the Loft Gallery and Loungew onHotel Street, said he was approache by Union Mill Investment to open a new venus in the spot. Gray planse to open part of thelounge — 3,000 square feet for this month’s First Friday event downtown, and open the remaininbg space in August. Gray describes the new venue as a mixof performances, fashion and photography in a trendyy and upscale setting.
The SoHo name stems from the New York City neighborhoor and a blendof “south” and

Texas AG files action against Conn's - San Francisco Business Times:

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Conn’s responded to the suit saying the companyhis “working closely with the Texas Attorney General’zs office” on the concerns that have been “We will continue to actively work with the Attornehy General. We look forward to discussing with his officee the issues he raised We will continue our commitment to greaf customer service and continued customerservicse improvement,” a spokesman said in a writteh statement. Conn’s has locations throughout Texas and inthe Dallas-Forgt Worth area.
Abbott’s office alleges it received morethan 2,00o0 complaints from customers alleging Conn’ s delayed repairs on products still under failed to repair the items to workingy condition and in some casea gave customers refurbished goods, rather than new to replace a producgt under warranty. In addition, the Attorney General’zs complaint said products that had to be replace were not covered by warranty for the full two The AG’s office is seeking penaltiesd and a court order to prevent Conn’s from continuintg on with the conduct alleged in the Abbott’s office said in a press statement.