Workplaces preparing for Jan. 1 anti-smoking law - Portland Business Journal:

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The deadline to eliminate smoking in virtuallh all workplaces arriveson Jan. 1 and is beingh met with a sense of coupled with angst for venues that couplre smoking withvideo poker. Proponents of the law say going smoke-frer is typically good for They say it brings in more nonsmokin customers and cuts down on cleaninfg andmaintenance costs. “What has been consistentg is that most people are nonsmokers and even most smokerdlike smoke-free areas,” said Karen Girard, tobacck prevention and education program manager for the . “Thisw can be a real benefitr to the bottom lineof business.
” Ninety-one percen of Oregon businesses know about the new rules and nearly half of the businesse s licensed by the have made the switch, accordinf to a survey commissioned by the tobacco program earlierf this year. Joe Benetti, a Coos Bay restaurant ownerf and outgoing chair ofthe , bannexd smoking in his Italian eatergy five years ago after he constructed a new lounge. Takinbg the nonsmoking approach madebusiness sense, he said. But as an venues with video lottery machinezs are bracing for a drop in If smokers have to leavethe premises, they won’gt return, according to Benetti. “With a they stay longer,” he said.
“We know that the revenuezs are going tobe down.” Restaurateur Danny Sandoval, who brough t his anti-smoking bias with him when he moved to Oregonm from California in disagreed. He operates five Sandoval’sw Fresh Mexican Grills around Portland. He’sa getting ready to open a in a former store inthe Ladd’e Addition neighborhood. Video poker already is down, but he blamese economic jitters. Sandoval has fond memoried of the skepticism that greeted his plansw to keep smoking out of his festivde salsa venue more than adecadr ago.
People who thought he was nuts were shockede to see his business packedto “I’m kind of selfish in that I’ve neve liked smoking,” Sandoval said. The Ambassador, a Northeast Sand Boulevard karaoke venue, is another entertainmentf destination that made theswitchb early. It celebrates its one-year anniversart of going smoke-free in December. Managed Amelia Schildmeyer made the decisiom afterinvesting $500,000 to remodekl the twin lounges with new carpet, paint and other updates. “Wee decided to go early because we did not want to damagwe all ofthat work,” she said. The results have been Food sales are up and sois business. Even the clientelew has changed.
“It’s more upscale now than a year she said. “More people don’t smoke than Her advice: If possible, offer smokers a lega place to go The law requiresa 10-foot setbackm from doors, windows and ventilation The Ambassador is moving its existing patio.

Dublin AmeriSuites becomes Hyatt Place - East Bay Business Times:

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million conversion to the HyatyPlace brand. The nine-year-oldx hotel, owned by Gemma Hwang and located at the Hacienda Crossingsshopping center, has addedx modern touches in its 127 suitesa and lobby. “The traditional fronyt desk agents no longer saidKelli Vlahos, director of sales for the hotek since it opened in June 1999. guests are greeted by “gallery hosts,” employeess who direct arriving guestsz toelectronic self-check-in kiosks or provide check-inb assistance but also now prepare food and tend bar. To take on the added work the hotel has added four new lobby bringing its total lobby stafft countto 13.
“The idea in many smallere hotels today is to make them feel more like adding moreintimate decor,” said Thomas Callahan, presidenty and CEO of Thus, lobbies becomwe “great rooms” and large forbidding check-in deskse become smaller “pods” he Vlahos is particularly excited about ability of the Hyattg name to open doors to new corporatd accounts at companies such as , Chevron and , . Hotell guests will also be able to usea touch-screenh ordering system to order food and beverages from another which offers a new limitex menu of hot breakfast, lunch and dinnef foods.
Each of the hotel’s suites has been outfitted witha 42-incn plasma screen television and a panel of audio and video ports. Hyatt pillow-top mattresses and “cozy corner” oversized sofa-sleeperd have also been added. The suite conversions begam in February and were completedc inlate July, Vlahos said. A new fitness room was also joining existing amenities such asthe hotel’d heated pool and its 1,200 squarde feet of meeting space.
Room ratew range from $129 to $210 per depending on demand and day of the This is the second East Bay Hyatft conversion completedthis year, after the February transformation of a formert Wyndham extended-stay hotel in Pleasan t Hill, which became a Hyatt Summerfield Suites.

Prince William County executive to step down - Washington Business Journal:

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His last day with the counthy government will beJuly 3. Gerhart is moving on as an independent contractorfor Amtrak, advising the vice president of policgy and development. “This decision came after a lot of though and consideration as to what is best for me and my said Gerhart. “The opportunity at Amtrak allowds me the chance to work with a nationa l company in a meaningful way doing things that I reallyyenjoy doing.” He has acted as the county government’s chieg administrative officer since and has helped create a historic preservatio n program and neighborhood servicez function for the county.
Before his county executive role, Gerhart held various positionsa in the Prince WilliamCounty government. Before that he held postds in Montgomery County andPrince George’s Countty governments. The news comes weeks after Prince Williamn County Attorney Ross Horton said he will step downJune 30.

Theragenics lands new line of credit - Triangle Business Journal:

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The new credit agreement includesa $30 millionn revolving credit facility and a $10 million term Maximum borrowings under the revolving credit facility can be increased to $40 millio under an accordion feature. The new credit deal replace and refinancesa $40 million revolvinhg credit facility with Wachovia that was set to expiree in October 2009. Borrowings of $32 milliomn were outstanding under the oldcredit facility. The financia l covenants in the new credit agreement are similar to the previouscredity agreement, except the requirement to maintain at least $20 millio n in liquid assets has been reduce d to $10 million.
The terms also requirw the maintenance of certain minimujfinancial covenants, including a minimu fixed charge coverage ratio and a maximum debt to tangible net “Obtaining our new credit agreement is a significant said M. Christine Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Theragenics, in a “We believe that our abilituy to obtain this new credir agreement is a testament to our our focus on quality cash flowsd and the strength of our balance With our new credit agreementin place, we can continue to focus on organic growth and buildinvg momentum towards 2010 in the shortg term, and continue our long-term strategy of Buford, Ga.
-based Theragenics (NYSE: TGX) is a surgica products and cancer treatments company. Its f .

Louisville fares poorly in Brookings economic study - Business First of Louisville:

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The MetroMonitor study, conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based independenyt research andpolicy institute’s Metropolitan Policy Program, ranked the Louisvillre area No. 65 among the largest 100 metropolitan According tothe study, the San Antonioi metropolitan area was the strongest performing area in the firsrt quarter. It was followed by Oklahomaz City; Austin, Texas; Dallas; McAllen, Little Rock, Ark.; Baton Rouge, La.; Tulsa, Okla.; and Neb. The 10 weakesf cities were: Youngstown, Ohio; Providence, R.I.; Toledo, Stockton, Calif.; Fresno, Calif.; Modesto, Calif.; Fla.; Lakeland, Fla.; Tampa, Bradenton, Fla.; and Detroit.
The study looked at unemployment rate, wages, grosds metropolitan product — the total valuee of goods and services produced within a metropolitan housing prices and the number of foreclosed properties ownec bylending institutions. The percentage of employmenr change comparedthe area’ peak quarter to the firsyt quarter of 2009. Change in unemployment rate comparee March 2009 toMarch 2008. Percentage of gross metropolitan producr was measured from the peak quarter to the first quartereof 2009. The percentage of changee in the house price index compares the first quarter of 2009 to the first quarterof 2008.
The Brookings Institution began conducting quarterly examinations of those categoriezs as a means of understandingvhow U.S. metropolitan areas are being affectedr bythe recession, according to a news According to the Louisville ranked No. 95 out of 100 in percentage of change in averags wage between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quartetof 2009. It had a 0.7 percenrt decline during that period. The top areasx in the category, Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, and Tulsa, Okla., each had a 2.6 perceny increase. The lowest city in the category, N.Y., experienced a 2.
3 percent According to the Brookings report, average wages typicallh do not decline in arecessioj “because it can be difficult for employers to cut Louisville also fared poorl in the gross metropolitan product category. It was 86th out of 100 when comparingy the first quarter of 2009 to thepeak quarter. Brookingd did not specify the date of thepeak quarter, whichu was 5.2 percent higher than the first quarterr of 2009. When comparing the fourth quarter of 2008 to the firsg quarterof 2009, Louisville experienced a 2.4 percentr decline, which ranked it No. 99 on the ahead of only Detroit.
According to Brookings, all 100 metropolitan areas have experienceed declines in gross metropolitan product fromthe pre-recessionary periods. Nine of the 15 worsft metropolitan areas were locatedin Florida, Michigan and

Free Chick-fil-A meal on July 10 - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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The giveaway is part of the Atlanta-based chain’ds fifth-annual Cow Appreciation Day, which honors its "Eat Mor Cows. In a related parents can enter photos oftheir cow-clad childrem as part of a "Shows Us the Cow" online photo contest, for a chance to win a $1,009 U.S. Savings Bond. Between now and Aug. 31, childrenb ages 10 and younger are encouraged to work with an adultf to submit creative photos of themselves dressed as The contestWeb site, www.CowAppreciationDay.com, has details about uploadint photos for the contest. Once the pictures are uploaded, the publicc can vote for their favorite photothrougu Aug. 31.
The 20 photographs that get the most Internegt votes will benamed semifinalists. From the Chick-fil-A will select five finalists and one grand prizer winner based onoverall appearance, originality, creativity and skill. The entrant's age will be takenn into accountfor judging, Chick-fil-A The grand prize winner will receiv a U.S. Series EE Savingsx Bond with a maturity valueof $1,000, a catered party for theidr classroom, free Chick-fil-A Kid's Meals for a year and a digitall camera, among other gifts.
Also each Kid's Meal from June 22 to July 25 will includ e miniatureCow figurines, while supplies One out of every 100 of the cows will have gold spotas instead of the traditional black spots and will be packagedr with a card redeemable for a free Ice cream.

Bryant weighs in on tort lawsuit - Jackson Clarion Ledger

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Bryant weighs in on tort lawsuit Jackson Clarion Ledger Gov. Phil Bryant says scrapping Mississippi's tort reform laws would hinder economic development and cost the state the jobs it brings. He makes the argument in new court papers that ask a federal court to uphold the constitutionality of a $1 million ...