New Mexico's special academy for training workers in the film and television industry is a step closer to fruition. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other officials gathered Wednesday at the Albuquerque Rail Yards to announce that the location will serve as the headquarters for the New Mexico Media Academy. There also will be a satellite campus in Las Cruces to serve the southern part of the state. Lawmakers in 2022 had approved $40 million for the effort, and numerous post-secondary institutions that offer film and media programs have agreed on the core curriculum for students. State officials say the industry supports an estimated 8,000 jobs across New Mexico.
A judge has ordered the U.S. government to resume regular oil and gas lease sales on federal lands in North Dakota. The order came Monday, even as a legal battle continues over the Biden administration’s decision to suspend leasing two years ago in an effort to combat climate change. North Dakota's attorney general says the canceled lease sales have cost the state over $100 million in revenue each year. A U.S. Department of Justice attorney argued that ordering lease sales before the lawsuit is decided is a “rush to judgment” that could cause increased litigation risk from environmental conservation groups.
A California lawmaker wants to end a ban on state-funded travel to states with discriminatory LGBTQ laws. State Sen. Toni Atkins said Wednesday she wants to replace the ban with a state-authorized marketing campaign to promote inclusive messaging in those states. California passed a law in 2016 banning state-funded travel to states that discriminate against the LGBTQ community. California now bans state-funded travel to 23 states, including Florida, Texas and Arizona. The law has created issues for academic researchers and college sports teams. The San Diego State University men's basketball team is traveling to the Final Four in Texas. The school says the NCAA is paying for the travel.
Oil companies including Chevron and ExxonMobil offered a combined $264 million for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico in a sale mandated by last year’s climate bill compromise. Wednesday's Department of Interior auction could further test the loyalty of environmentalists and young voters who backed President Joe Biden but were frustrated by this month’s approval of the huge Willow drilling project in northern Alaska. The auction was the first in the Gulf in more than a year and drew interest from industry giants including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron. Bids were up 38% from the last auction and marked the most offered in a sale since 2017.
Most gig workers in Seattle will be permanently entitled to paid sick leave and safe time under a first-in-the-nation law. The new measure signed by Mayor Bruce Harrell on Wednesday expands protections extended during the coronavirus pandemic and strengthens labor rights for app-based workers. Seattle previously allowed food delivery workers to accrue paid sick and safe time. But that policy was due to expire May 1, six months after the end of the city’s emergency pandemic order. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to make it permanent for “on-demand” gig workers on apps such as DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart. In an emailed statement, Instacart suggested the measure was “misguided.”
Howard Schultz met with Democratic hostility and Republican sympathy at a Senate hearing on labor practices at Starbucks.
Isaac Perlmutter sold Marvel to Disney in 2009 for $4 billion.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has tried to force a Senate vote on legislation that would ban TikTok from operating in the United States. He was blocked Wednesday by a fellow Republican as lawmakers in both chambers are still trying to figure out what action, if any, is appropriate against the social media app. Hawley called TikTok “digital fentanyl” and argued it could give the Chinese government access to data from 150 million American users. Republican Sen. Rand Paul objected to Hawley’s motion, arguing that trying to ban an app would violate the Constitution and anger the millions of voters who use it.
Former and current staff members had fought the decision to shut down the 68-year-old magazine, a bastion of liberal opinion and investigative journalism in a red state.
Twitter says it has removed tweets showing a poster promoting a ‘Trans Day of Vengeance’ protest in support of transgender rights in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of Trust and Safety, said in a tweet Wednesday that the company automatically removed more than 5,000 tweets and retweets of a poster promoting the event. In removing the tweets, Twitter said it used automated processes to do it quickly at a large scale, without considering what context the tweets were shard in. Because of this, both tweets that were critical of and those that supported the protests were removed.
Adidas did not say why it was reversing its opposition to the trademark application from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation for a logo featuring three stripes.
Board members picked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the governance of Walt Disney World say their Disney-controlled predecessors pulled a fast one on them by passing restrictive covenants that strip the new board of many of its powers. The current supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said at a meeting Wednesday that their predecessors last month signed a development agreement with the company that gave Disney maximum developmental power over Disney World’s 27,000 acres. The supervisors were appointed to the board after the Florida Legislature overhauled Disney’s government in retaliation for the entertainment giant publicly opposing “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
Carlos Moreno has faced harassment in online forums and over email in recent weeks.
President Joe Biden says global leaders are “turning the tide” in stemming a yearslong backslide of democratic institutions. At his second democracy summit on Wednesday, Biden looked to spotlight hopeful advancements over the past year despite Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine and U.S. tensions with China over its military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Biden cited signs of progress across the globe, from Angola’s effort to create an independent judiciary, Croatia’s move to boost government transparency and the Dominican Republic’s anti-corruption steps. Biden also pointed to his stalled push for voting protections in Congress as evidence of his administration’s commitment to support democracy.
Ukraine’s iron- and steel-producing factories have made body armor, helmets and armored plates for vehicles — and steelworkers risked their lives rolling out heavy machinery at the beginning of the war to help physically block the Russian advance.
Congress on Wednesday approved a resolution to overturn the Biden administration's protections for thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways. The Senate voted 53 to 43 to approve the Republican-led effort. President Joe Biden has promised to veto the measure. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to block recently enacted executive branch regulations and only needs a majority vote. This is the latest development in a long-running fight over the reach of the Clean Water Act. Environmental groups have sought protections that cover more waters to reduce pollution while business and farming groups have supported proposals to curtail regulations that can impose permitting requirements on builders.
Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz insisted the coffee chain hasn’t broken labor laws and is willing to bargain with unionized workers during an often testy, two-hour appearance before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Schultz was firm in his stance that the Seattle-based company provides good wages and benefits and doesn’t need a union. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent and a vocal supporter of Starbucks labor organizers, has sought Schultz’s testimony for months, saying the Starbucks chief has violated workers' rights by opposing unionization. At least 293 of Starbucks' 9,000 company-owned U.S. stores have voted to unionize since late 2021.
ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — If U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has a favorite number on her trip to Africa, it's undoubtedly 19. That's the median age in Africa, and she repeats the fact at every opportunity.
For Harris, it's not a piece of trivia but the driving force behind the stepped-up U.S. outreach to African countries. Washington is racing to build partnerships on the oldest inhabited continent with the youngest population, a test that could reshape the economy in Africa and, by extension, the rest of the world.
In the near future, “1 in 4 people on this earth will be on this continent," Harris said during a conversation with reporters. “Just on that alone -- the demographics of it all alone -- if you put aside the present and the past, if we are to be forward-looking in terms of national policies and priorities, we have to look at this continent.”
As part of that effort, Harris on Wednesday announced more than $1 billion in public and private money for women's economic empowerment. The money is expected to come from a mix of nonprofit foundations, private companies and the U.S. government, and it's intended to expand access to digital services, provide job training and support entrepreneurs.
Harris made the announcement during a meeting with six Ghanaian female entrepreneurs. It was her final event in Ghana before she left for Tanzania, where she arrived Wednesday evening, as part of a weeklong Africa tour that will also take her to Zambia.
She called the women at the table “a model for the potential of all people," and said that “the well-being of women will be a reflection of the well-being of all of society.”
Harris is the highest-profile member of President Joe Biden's administration to visit Africa this year. While in Ghana, she paid particular attention to...
Boeing's first launch of astronauts has been delayed again, this time until July. NASA announced the latest postponement Wednesday, saying more time is needed to certify the Starliner capsule that will blast off with two test pilots. Additional software testing is also underway. Boeing already was running years behind schedule when it had to repeat its test flight without a crew to the International Space Station because of software and other problems. NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX a decade ago to ferry astronauts to and from the orbiting lab. SpaceX launched its seventh NASA crew earlier this month.
Federal safety investigators are looking at a natural gas pipeline for fractures and other damage as they gather evidence on the cause of a deadly explosion at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory. The National Transportation Safety Board opened a probe into Friday’s blast at R.M. Palmer Co., which killed seven, wounded several others and leveled the building in West Reading. An agency spokesman said Wednesday that safety investigators are gathering evidence about the pipeline. The family that owns the factory says the loss of their employees “will be felt forever.” The coroner's office says autopsies preliminarily revealed all seven died of blast injuries.
An official with Xcel Energy says a faulty pipe that allowed water containing a radioactive isotope of hydrogen to leak at a Minnesota nuclear power plant has been repaired and that the plant will return to service in the next week. Meanwhile, a state agency says a fish kill in the Mississippi River near the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant was caused by a water temperature change resulting from the shutdown of the plant, not by any tritium-containing water, which they say has not leaked into the river. Tritium occurs naturally in the environment and is a common by-product of nuclear plant operations. It emits a weak form of beta radiation that does not travel far and cannot penetrate human skin.
Stocks rallied as Wall Street shook off more of the fear that dominated it earlier this month. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also rose. They followed similar gains in other markets around the world. A measure of nervousness among stock investors on Wall Street is back near its lowest levels since early this month, before Silicon Valley Bank became the second-largest U.S. bank failure in history. The S&P 500 is on track to close a tumultuous month with a modest gain.
Stocks rallied as Wall Street shook off more of the fear that dominated it earlier this month. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% Wednesday for its fourth gain in five days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.8%. They followed similar gains in other markets around the world. A measure of nervousness among stock investors on Wall Street is back near its lowest levels since early this month, when Silicon Valley Bank became the second-largest U.S. bank failure in history. The S&P 500 is on track to close a tumultuous month with a modest gain.
Attorneys for a group of Tesla shareholders are asking Delaware's Supreme Court to overturn a judge’s decision in favor of CEO Elon Musk in a lawsuit challenging the electric car maker’s $2.4 billion acquisition of a solar panel company founded by two of his cousins. The plaintiffs argued Wednesday that a trial judge erred in finding that Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity in 2016 was “entirely fair,” despite his concerns about the deal process and Musk's involvement. At the time, Musk owned about 22% of Tesla’s common stock. He was also the largest stockholder of SolarCity and its board chairman. The judge nevertheless determined that Tesla's board meaningfully vetted the deal, and that Musk did not stand in its way. He also said the evidence showed that Tesla paid a fair price.
President Alberto Fernández of Argentina has used a White House meeting to spotlight the economic strain his country faces as he looks for President Joe Biden to back Argentina’s effort to renegotiate with the International Monetary Fund on terms of $44 billion debt. The United States has veto power in the IMF, so any sign of support from Biden to revise requirements to the debt agreement would be seen as a positive for Argentina while talks continue. Fernández said Argentina’s economy has endured the “worst drought” in the country in more than 90 years and he noted that Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused rippling effects on his country’s economy and others.
Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Wednesday: Lululemon, Cintas rise; UniFirst, Progress Software fall.
Emily Fisher Landau, an art collector and patron, in front of Fernand Leger's “Etude pour Les Constructeurs” in her home in Manhattan in 2002. “I’ve never collected something because it was fashionable,” she said. “It was always about what I instinctively liked.”
Documents that ByteDance shared with marketing agencies in January show that Lemon8 is initially focused on topics like fashion, healthy food and wellness.
Fox News and Donald J. Trump existed for years in a kind of symbiosis — with on-air personalities effusively praising him and benefiting from big ratings for his frequent appearances.
Sergio P. Ermotti, a former chief executive of UBS, will return to that role on April 5, taking over from Ralph Hamers.
Mr. Moore demonstrated a dose of Narcan in his shop. He receives Narcan from state mental health services and will give a box and a training to anyone who drops by to ask.
Doses of Narcan in a vending machine at a safe drug site in Providence, R.I.
Starting with a modest shop in Taiwan in 1958, he built Din Tai Fung into a global dumpling and noodle empire, earning a Michelin star along the way.
When the (real) world is not enough, new luxury tours offer fans a chance to engage with their favorite film and TV worlds.
Sergio Ermotti will return as C.E.O. of UBS on April 5.
The post Sales Enablement Platforms: Understanding Their Significance and Benefits appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
The world is a market of businesses and competition is galore. The success of any business is ultimately measured by its sales and thus the need of the hour is Sale Enablement Platforms (SEP). A sales enablement platform is a single space or software which offers all the tools, processes, resources, training, and content for the sales team to enhance sales. It is a centralized platform that organizes, manages, and shares all information required for sales.
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These resources help the teams to engage and procure customers while strengthening customer relation management (CRM) and ultimately improving sales, driving revenue growth.
Incorporating sales enablement into the sales strategy can be a game changer for businesses.…
Google’s Bard chatbot fared far worse than OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but human assistants might soon be out of their jobs.
Tony Spring has worked at Bloomingdale’s for 36 years, including the last nine as chief executive.
The post A Guide to Managing a Successful Campground Business appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
If you’re ready to turn your piece of land into a successful campground business, you’ve come to the right place.
Running a successful campground business can be challenging, but with proper management and marketing strategies, you can turn your campground into a profitable venture.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to manage a successful campground business by providing you with essential tips and strategies, including how to effectively manage campground reservations, to ensure a thriving and profitable outdoor experience for your guests.
Define Your Business Plan
Before taking any further steps, defining your business plan is important. This includes determining your goals, target audience, marketing strategies, and operational costs.…
China’s gaming companies face increasing scrutiny from the country’s government and increasing challenges with international partners. Last year, China’s $39 billion gaming market contracted for the first time in years.
Ian Lieber, left, and Charles Haslett both impersonate King Charles III and have seen increased interest in their services.
Members of the Senate Banking Committee questioned officials from the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Tuesday.
The post 6 Things you Should Know Before Investing in Stock appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
So, you finally want to enter the stock investment world, but you feel lost and scared of the complexities of the stock market. Well, you are not alone. After all, there are 11 distinct stock market sectors, up to 8400 securities, 69 industries, and over 400 certified companies across major exchanges in the US. That said, picking stocks and making the right choice can be quite an intimidating process for any investor, let alone a beginner.
Let us get this out of the way; no formula or foolproof algorithm will guarantee ultimate success in the stock market. However, there are numerous investment philosophies, strategies, mindsets, and schemes that successful investors use to approach and maneuver the stock market.…
The post Understanding the Different Types of Tamper-Resistant Security Labels appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
Tamper-resistant security labels are a great way to protect products and items from tampering or unauthorized access. They are designed to provide visual evidence of any tampering attempts and can also act as a deterrent to potential tamperers.
photo credit: Sergey Subotin / Flickr
Two main types of tamper-resistant security labels are available, each with its own features and benefits. In this article, we’ll take a look at tamper-resistant security labels, their types, benefits, and their characteristics.
Types of Tamper-Resistant Security Labels
Tamper-proof and tamper-evident labels are two security labels manufacturers use to prevent tampering and unauthorized access to products or items.…
The post Your Customer Education Platform Helps to Maximize Your ROI appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
Many out there believe that a customer education platform is only an investment into an expanded support component, especially for highly complicated products. Yet, in reality, a properly developed customer education platform leads to much healthier margins and an excellent ROI on your overall product.
It Helps to Reduce your Costs
Ultimately, with a fully fleshed-out customer education platform, this is an engaging guidebook for anyone to become a subject matter expert. That means there’ll be a significant reduction in needing a customer service team, as the answers a customer seeks will most likely be somewhere in the customer education platform.…
The post 7 Common Errors with Truck Accident Lawsuits and How to Avoid Them appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
Just because truck accident fatalities are less common than with civilian vehicles doesn’t mean they don’t happen. In recent years, trucking fatalities have increased by 13%. It’s more dangerous than ever to be a trucker on the road.
Chances are, an accident may force you to take your case to court. This case could determine your future employment and your finances when dealing with an injury. That’s why it’s so important to educate yourself and avoid errors with truck accident lawsuits.
In this guide, we are here to help you out. Before you begin the lawsuit filing process, here are seven errors you should avoid with your truck accident case.…
The post Should Small Businesses be Vigilant against Cyber Threats? appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
Even though many don’t realize it, small businesses are at a greater cybersecurity risk than ever. Larger companies may be able to throw money or influence at such problems, but most small businesses are out of luck.
If you are a small business owner, keep on reading and familiarize yourself with the seriousness of the outcome that cyber threats can cause.
5 Reasons Why Small Businesses Should Worry about Security
A single cyberattack can be enough to make a small business go under. Depending on the severity of the attack, recovering financial and reputational loss might be challenging.
There is more to it.…
The post Everything You Need To Know About Buying Funding Data In 2023 appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
Funding data may bring more light onto how the company is perceived by other investors, whether it was successful in funding rounds, and how much it managed to accumulate for a certain time.
Many investment banking professionals or individual investors consider buying funding data to save time and resources and get the needed data faster to execute it immediately. Here are all the details to consider when considering buying data from a data provider.
What is funding data?
Funding data is a part of corporate data, including fundraising rounds, funds raised in each round, the exact investment stages, investors, and other financial data points of firms.…
The post How Does ACH Benefit Subscription-based Businesses? appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
Electronic transactions known as Automated Clearing House (ACH) debits “lift” money from the payer’s account and deposit it into the payee’s account. ACH debits, as opposed to ACH credits, are started by the payee rather than the payer.
Both sides must agree to an ACH debit payment before it can proceed, which means the payer (often a customer) must allow the payee (typically a business) permission to withdraw money from their account. These basic payment methods provide a safe and economical option for businesses to receive payments.
Businesses and governmental organizations, for instance, frequently accept recurring monthly payments such as membership fees or loan repayments through ACH debits.…
The post How to Enhance Your Employer Brand With Company Swag appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.
Team engagement and company culture are more important than ever. The Great Resignation is still raging, and teams everywhere want their places of work to improve.
A strong company culture increases team engagement — and vice versa. In fact, when teams believe their organizational cultures are positive, they are almost four times as likely to be engaged than teams who believe the opposite.
Flexibility, hybrid work, competitive pay, and strong benefits keep your teams happy and working hard. If you’re looking for a unique way to take your culture and brand to the next level, though, start giving away company swag.…
Three Tri-Cities businesses and one nonprofit received kudos March 22 for being on a roll. The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Business on a Roll awards recognize businesses that achieved…
The post Small businesses honored at Regional Chamber event appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
State hospitality grants now available The Washington State Department of Commerce announced plans to award $100 million in hospitality and lodging grants. The program will award one-time grants to eligible…
The post Hospitality Briefs – March 2023 appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
By Jamie Councilfor Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business Leasing Park Place’s remaining retail storefront marks the completion of a longtime vision to create a vibrant mixed-use urban community between George…
The post Park Place fulfills vision of creating mixed-use development appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
Four years ago, plans to develop Osprey Pointe Marketplace were announced. When Eaty Gourmet couldn’t deliver, JMS Construction stepped up with a goal of breaking ground in 2020. Then Covid-19…
The post Setbacks don’t deter big plans for Pasco’s Osprey Pointe Marketplace appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
The potential transformation of the Richland Wye is a step closer to reality after a pair of land auctions yielded 11 buyers who bid more than $5 million for property…
The post 11 buyers bid more than $5 million on Wye properties appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
Transit extends service to east Pasco, Amazon warehouses Ben Franklin Transit has extended Pasco’s Route 64 service to include the new Amazon warehouses, as well as the communities of Tierra…
The post Business Briefs – March 2023 appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
Office supply needs were a bit different back in 1946, when Brutzman’s Office Solutions first opened in the Tri-Cities. Remington Rand typewriters were an early focus, for example. But the…
The post Boise-based company buys longtime Richland office furniture shop appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
Are Tri-City business leaders and employees feeling grim that the region’s business climate isn’t improving? A recent survey suggests they might be. Business leaders and employees surveyed in Washington, Oregon…
The post Pandemic amplifies disconnect between region’s business leaders, employees appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
Washington’s housing affordability crisis hurts every corner of the state. We’ve all heard stories. Nurses and grocery store employees can’t afford to live where they work. Young people are priced…
The post It’s time to go big or go home on Washington’s housing crisis appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.
There is no substitute for person-to-person connections – people talking with, listening to and understanding one another. It is called “customer service,” and it is the best way to resolve…
The post Busting the maze of phone prompts is good customer service appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.