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THE dilemmas of youth are universal. Consider Nicholas and Victoria, a pair of late-blossoming youngsters currently making their way toward adulthood at a multiplex near you. Respectively male and female, American and English, middle-class and filthy rich, they nonetheless face a nearly identical set of difficulties as they navigate the choppy seas of adolescence. Both have foolish mothers and malign, controlling stepfather-figures. Both are variously ignored, manipulated, and bullied by many of the other adults around them. Both are virgins with a strong romantic streak. And both are separated from the girl/guy of their dreams by distance, legal obligations, and even language barriers. Well, fine, maybe their situations arent quite identical. Nicholas is Nick Twisp, the lovesick hero of Youth in Revolt, which fancies itself the thinking teenagers sex comedy. Its American Pie rewritten for Juno fans and Arrested Development obsessives–complete with Michael Cera, star of both, as the deadpan, quietly desperate hero. His milieu is West Coast suburbia; his mother is a divorcee who takes up with truck drivers and police officers; and his lady love is Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), the precocious daughter of trailer-park evangelicals, who shares his interest in old movies, world travel, and grand romantic gestures. Victoria, meanwhile, is Alexandrina Victoria Hanover, best remembered as a formidable widow presiding over the British Empires peak, but portrayed by Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria as a glowing girl-queen with a lot to learn. Her milieu is the palaces of 1830s Europe; her menacing stepfather-figure is Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong), who hoped to become Britains de facto regent by dominating Victoria through her mother; and her would-be lover is her cousin, His Serene Highness Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who shares Victorias interest in opera, horseback riding, and programs of social reform. If this description makes The Young Victoria sound like the more snobbish of the two movies, do not be deceived. No double feature is more likely to instill a fondness for the aristocratic pomposities of the 19th century, and a weariness with the smug pretensions of the 21st.
QWE have a 32-year-old Paddington Bear in excellent condition. It has the original red hat, green coat and red wellington boots. It also includes the tag “please look after this bear, thank you,” the Gabrielle booklet and the Gabrielle label sown in the back of the bear. How much is it worth? – Ken Wirral, via email AIT was Paddingtons 50th anniversary in 2008 and the much-loved bear has never lost his appeal Naturally such a star attracts collectors and one of the most popular collectables are the figurines and plush toys made in his honour. Early and collectable bears make pounds 100 to pounds 150 and need the Dunlop wellies, not the later PB marked ones. Aunt Lucy is harder to find today and in good shape will cost pounds 200-pounds 250.
Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag became a father again last November, six weeks before announcing his engagement. Putting the baby before the ring is increasingly common. But its still unusual for the baby to be borne by one woman while the ring goes on the finger of another.

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BRISTOL CITY 1 COVENTRY 1 Clarkson 83 Bell 47 A LATE strike from David Clarkson (below) rescued Bristol City and denied Coventry their first Coca-Cola Championship victory in their last five games. David Bells first Championship goal of the season just after half-time looked to have given the Sky Blues a fortunate victory. But substitute Clarkson fired home seven minutes from time to salvage a point for the Robins, who missed a hatful of chances to secure all three points. But Westwood had to be alert to keep out Jamie McAllisters left- foot strike with his feet after 31 minutes as the home side pressed for the opening goal. Marvin Elliott then had a chance to put Gary Johnsons side in front just before half-time but he failed to get enough power on his shot and Westwood made the save.
JOHN SHERIDANS side recorded successive league wins for the first time since November to keep up their play-off challenge. On-loan midfielder Dominic Green put the home side ahead with a superb 25-yard strike before Barry Conlon extended their advantage with a header after Lincoln failed to clear a corner.
JOHN SHERIDANS side recorded successive league wins for the first time since November to keep up their play-off challenge. On-loan midfielder Dominic Green put the home side ahead with a superb 25-yard strike before Barry Conlon extended their advantage with a header while Moses Swaibus first senior goal halved Citys deficit.

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PetSmart Charities new
adoption center in Albuquerque is going to the dogs — literally!

On February 13, 2010, PetSmart Charities, Inc. will open a new adoption center just
for dogs inside the PetSmart® store at 350 Eubank Blvd. NE. A ribbon
cutting to mark the grand opening of the center is scheduled for 10 a.m. on
Saturday, Feb. 13. Members of the public and news media are invited.

The Albuquerque center is one of three such specialized, dog-adoption
centers opening inside selected U.S. PetSmart® stores on Feb. 13 as
nonprofit PetSmart Charities collaborates with local animal-welfare
agencies and shelters to save the lives of even more homeless pets.
Similar dog-adoption centers also are opening in Lubbock, Texas and Hemet,
Calif.

Dogs and puppies from Watermelon Ranch will be available at the new
Albuquerque center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; and
from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. The new adoption area features 16
adult-dog kennels measuring 3 X 4; four, 3 X 3 puppy kennels; and three
“meet and greet” areas where prospective adopters and their family members
(including dogs they already have) can get better acquainted with the
canine companion they want to take home.

Watermelon Ranch takes in up to 5,000 homeless and unwanted pets a year,
and continues to receive requests for help from other shelters across New
Mexico that are faced with having to euthanize pets because theyve run out
of space, said Executive Director Sophie DiClemente.

GOLDEN RESCUE
SATURDAY ADOPTIONS — 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. — TVAR; Pleasanton Farmers Market, First and West Angela streets, Pleasanton; dogs/cats. — 10 a.m.-1 p.m. — Safe-Cat Foundation; Petsmart, 6960 Amador Plaza Road, Dublin; cats. — 10 a.m.-2 p.m. — ARF: Pet Food Express, 3610 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, Walnut Creek; cats. — 11 a.m.-3 p.m. — Safe-Cat Foundation; Petco, 1170 Arnold Drive, Martinez; cats.

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RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Security Bank of California, wholly owned and sole subsidiary of
Security California Bancorp (OTCBB: SCAF), announced its financial
results for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Highlights of the Bank’s performance for the year ended December 31 2009
include:

Net income of $1.7 million, on a pre-provision, pre-tax, up 21% over the
same period last year

Total Assets increased 31.7%, to $314.7 million

Total Loans grew 31% or $64 million to $271.5 million

Essential Elements of Agreement Stay in Place

LAS VEGAS — Bergamo Acquisition Corp. (OTC Pink Sheets: BGMO) is addressing the many
questions that have surrounded its funding agreements. First the funding
agreement with Esoft Informatics Private Ltd., originally announced on
January 12, 2010, has been renegotiated to the benefit of Bergamo
shareholders. The terms of the funding has been changed from a loan to
an equity investment. Funding of this transaction is anticipated to take
place when Mr. Herzog travels to India next week to meet with Mr. Vivek
Sinha, the President of Esoft Informatics Private Ltd.

In addition, the previous announcement concerning the Company’s funding
through its European banking associates will now be addressed as part of
Mr. Herzog’s travels which start in India and conclude in London.

It is important to note that previous announcements concerning the
Pakistani Energy Projects are still valid. The Company, through Mr.
Herzog, would like to positively state that all prior announcements
regarding funding of the energy projects as well, as the Companys
overall involvement in these energy projects, will be followed through
to completion. Again, the Company, through Mr. Herzog, would like to
positively state that these energy projects will be funded and completed
without delay.

All of other acquisitions are still in place as well. These include
GreenSafe Demanufacturing Inc., Suntrough Energy Inc., and the Mobile
Software Technologies company from Japan.

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Level 3’s CDN to Bring Popular Chef’s Recipes to Mobile Users

BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:LVLT) today announced that it is
working with software publishing company Zolmo Limited to deliver
caching, on-demand video content and geo-targeting services for the
Jamie Oliver “20 Minute Meals” iPhone application.

The “20 Minute Meals” application is a mobile digital cookbook full of
step-by-step instructions, full-screen photography, a shopping list
feature, and high-quality videos that users can follow to create 55
healthy meals from the popular chef.

Level 3 is working with Zolmo to deliver caching and download services
for the application over the Level 3 Content Delivery Network (CDN).
Level 3 is also delivering token-based authentication and geo-targeting
to give Zolmo the ability to customize delivery options to users. In
addition, Level 3 worked with Zolmo to de-couple the video content from
the application’s other content (recipes, photos, shopping lists) to
enable users to more quickly download and install the application.

“As more people turn to mobile devices for content, there is a greater
expectation that the quality of the mobile experience will mirror that
of the traditional online experience,” said Peter Neill, senior vice
president of Content Markets for Level 3. “By leveraging the Level 3 IP
backbone, we’re able to provide the scalability and reliability needed
to ensure a first-class user experience.”

High-End Monitor Improves Upon Award-Winning MultiSync 90 Series

CHICAGO — NEC
Display Solutions of America, a leading provider of commercial
LCD display and projector
solutions, announces the new MultiSync® PA Series, successor
to the critically acclaimed MultiSync 90 Series, by introducing the
MultiSync PA241W. Designed for professional graphics applications, this
24-inch desktop display is ideal for digital photography, video editing,
print production and any environment in which color accuracy is crucial.

The PA241W continues the MultiSync 90 Series’ tradition of delivering
crisp, accurate images while adding improved color coverage, sleeker
industrial design and enhanced connectivity. The display features 102
percent coverage of NTSC and 99.3 percent of Adobe® RGB, an
increase from 72 percent in the MultiSync LCD2490WUXi². With a 38
percent smaller footprint size, the display provides users with more
desktop space and decreased costs in shipping and storage. Improved
cable management enables simpler setup of the monitor, while its new
10-bit DisplayPort and USB hub add to an already diverse set of input
connectors.

“NEC’s MultiSync PA Series is a flagship desktop monitor family that
carries market leadership in the color, medical and professional
industries,” said Art Marshall, Product Manager at NEC Display
Solutions. “The MultiSync PA241W, the first model in this series,
focuses on both workflow productivity and color accuracy, with the aim
to improve upon the success of the MultiSync 90 Series. Users that
require a reliable display for color precision will want to take
advantage of the sophisticated technologies used in the MultiSync PA
Series, starting with the PA241W.”

Below is a partial list of features included in the MultiSync PA241W:

Nina Maniphak, a senior from Gar-Field
Senior High School in Woodbridge, VA, will be getting much more “exposure”
than usual these days, since she captured top honors during the Network for
Teaching Entrepreneurship, Greater Washington, DCs (NFTE-GW) 30th
semi-annual Regional Final Business Plan Competition.

Ninas business plan for her start-up, Plum Porcupine Photography, edged
out her five other teenage entrepreneurial peers to win first place — a
$1,500 cash prize of seed capital investment to jump start her business.
Nina, age 18, was the only female out of six DC-area students presenting
and defending business plans before a panel of 12 local business/community
leaders during the January 28th regional competition.

NFTE, a nonprofit organization that teaches entrepreneurship and business
skills to high school students from low-income communities, holds this
competition at the end of each school semester as the culmination of its
80-hour “Mini-MBA” entrepreneurship curriculum. Throughout the year, NFTE
provides school-based and after-school programs to teach youth from
low-income communities how to start and operate their own businesses. At
the end of each semester, all students are required to write a business
plan, and they participate in an “In-class Business Plan Competition.”
Those winning students go on to compete first in the Semifinals, then
regional competition, where the top six finalists compete to win $150 to
$1,500 in seed capital investment.

The other teen entrepreneur winners were:

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PROVO — They cascade down like a paper rain, bright green, deep blue, hot pink and shimmering gold wings catching the light. These walls of origami cranes, tens of thousands of them, represent the 120,313 Japanese-American internees who were pulled away from their homes and families and herded like cattle into remote areas of the United States during World War II hysteria. “I learned that you can affect people just by doing a simple thing like collecting paper cranes,” said Reed, now 16. “Some (internees) didnt want to share their experiences with their families, because it was a dark period in their lives. But I think our project got them to open up, and they got closer to their families.” During the “Cranes for Peace Memorial Project,” which had expanded to include all internees, Reed said, they received several letters from children of internees who thanked them for their project and the conversations it helped facilitate.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MAY I HAVE YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION PLEASE!” Small guy, big mouth: Hes maybe 15, black, skinny kid, but his voice fills up the noisy New York City subway car and then some. “I am selling candy! I got Snickers! I got Peanut MMs! I am trying to make some money! This isnt for school, this isnt for a basketball team, this is for ME! So I can get more candy and MAKE MORE MONEY!” The straphangers appreciate his no-malarkey sales pitch and his entrepreneurial spirit. He does a bit of business, and a few people just give him a buck and skip the candy. His name is Will, and he is not turning down a dollar. But its a tough hustle: Accounting for the cost of his product and his subway pass, it takes him about three hours to earn $20 free and clear, an implied wage of $6.67 an hour–well under minimum wage. On the other hand, its tax-free, and he sets his own hours. Will wants to go to college–and then what? “Be an independent businessman.” Hes already that, and, if persistence really does pay, hes going to do fine for himself. Theres a whole weird little economy on the subway, from candy hustlers like Will to the Chinese ladies who sell pirated DVDs of movies that have just opened in the cinemas. There are acrobats and mariachi bands, good old-fashioned panhandlers, poets, preachers, and percussionists. Its all part of the famous entrepreneurial bustle of New York. But stay on that No. 4 train a few more stops, north of Harlem and into the Bronx, and that entrepreneurial energy evaporates. Not far from the Kingsbridge Road stop is the Eighth Regiment Armory, a fantastically out-of-place 575,000-square-foot brick castle. Its been a lot of different things over the years–barracks, homeless shelter, boat-show venue, a pre-creepified set for Will Smiths I Am Legend–but it currently is vacant, as are a lot of buildings in the Bronx. Passing by, late on a weekday morning, is a local who calls himself “C,” a black man as sturdily built as the armory itself. C very much wants a cigarette. This is a problem, because he is not currently in funds, in no small part because he does not have a job. In fact, at 35 years old, C has never held a job. His friends, acquaintances, known associates (C is a little foggy on whether hes on probation or parole, but hes got some known associates): no jobs, never really had them. His father? Do not ask C about his father. In fact, the only people C can think of who have jobs are women: His mother worked, the mother of his children works. He did know a woman who was dating a taxi driver once. C says he would like to work but is more of an independent businessman. He describes the informal work he has done as “this and that,” and says he would like to “have his own place,” a bar or a nightclub. But dont expect to see him selling candy on the No. 4 train anytime soon. Asked about the recently defeated plan to convert the gigantic fortress that looms over his neighborhood into a shopping mall, C says he hasnt heard about it. If the plan had gone through, Manhattan-based developer Related Companies would have received about $50 million in tax subsidies for a project that would have created as many as a thousand retail jobs and, during its construction, employed a thousand or more highly paid union hardhats. But the city council killed the project. The Bronx delegation demanded that Related enforce upon its leaseholders a requirement that all of the jobs in the mall pay at least $10 an hour, plus benefits, much more than the prevailing wage in the Forever21-and-food-court racket, to say nothing of the $7.25 minimum wage. So a $300 million project, and a couple of thousand new jobs in a neighborhood that needs them, never happened. Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. infamously declared: “The notion that any job is better than no job no longer applies.” The New York Post pithily pointed out that when it comes to real jobs, Diaz has never had one–not in the private sector, anyway–and neither has any other member of the Bronxs city-council delegation: All are lifelong politicians, many of them having held elected offices or political appointments since their early 20s. Diaz himself has been an officeholder since he was 23 years old. Its good work, if you can get it. But theres not much other work to be had in the Bronx, where unemployment is currently at about 13.1 percent. Much of the Bronx is young and black or young and Hispanic. Nationally, the unemployment rate among blacks rose to 16.2 percent in the year-end numbers, while the rate for whites fell to 9.0 percent. For black youths, the numbers are startling: 50 percent for 16-19-year-olds, 26 percent for 20-24-year-olds. A study from the Community Service Society of New York puts actual work-force participation among black men 16-65 years of age in New York City at about 50 percent, and the number for young black men nationwide is just 40 percent.

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Essential Elements of Agreement Stay in Place

LAS VEGAS — Bergamo Acquisition Corp. (OTC Pink Sheets: BGMO) is addressing the many
questions that have surrounded its funding agreements. First the funding
agreement with Esoft Informatics Private Ltd., originally announced on
January 12, 2010, has been renegotiated to the benefit of Bergamo
shareholders. The terms of the funding has been changed from a loan to
an equity investment. Funding of this transaction is anticipated to take
place when Mr. Herzog travels to India next week to meet with Mr. Vivek
Sinha, the President of Esoft Informatics Private Ltd.

In addition, the previous announcement concerning the Company’s funding
through its European banking associates will now be addressed as part of
Mr. Herzog’s travels which start in India and conclude in London.

It is important to note that previous announcements concerning the
Pakistani Energy Projects are still valid. The Company, through Mr.
Herzog, would like to positively state that all prior announcements
regarding funding of the energy projects as well, as the Companys
overall involvement in these energy projects, will be followed through
to completion. Again, the Company, through Mr. Herzog, would like to
positively state that these energy projects will be funded and completed
without delay.

All of other acquisitions are still in place as well. These include
GreenSafe Demanufacturing Inc., Suntrough Energy Inc., and the Mobile
Software Technologies company from Japan.

SEATTLE — Plaza Bank (OTCBB:PZBW) is pleased to report its first positive
quarterly earnings since inception in mid-2006. The Bank reported net
income of $121 thousand for the quarter ending December 31, 2009.

Total assets increased $35.4 million during the last twelve months to
$124.7 million at December 31, 2009. Net loans increased $14.2 million
to $87.4 million during the same period, reflecting strong demand for
commercial lending services among Plaza Bank’s target borrowers. Core
deposits increased 36.2% or $12.0 million in 2009.

Net interest income increased to $3.7 million before provisions for loan
losses for the year ended December 31, 2009, an increase from $2.4
million in 2008. In addition, lower cost of funds contributed to an
increase in the net interest margin from 3.15% to 3.82%. Operating
expenses remained flat for the 12 months ended December 31, 2009,
excluding an extraordinary charge to expenses reflecting a valuation
allowance for other real estate owned.

Reflective of current market conditions and the effects on certain
borrowers, the management and directors of Plaza Bank considered it
prudent to increase loan loss reserves to 4.00% of total loans at
December 31, 2009. At December 31, 2009, Plaza reported $4.9 million in
non-accrual loans and a single property in OREO with a carrying value of
$851 thousand. This conservative and cautious approach resulted in the
addition of $4.1 million to loan loss reserves during the year.
Excluding these extraordinary additions to reserves, operating earnings
improved by $1.3 million year over year.

These are troubling times for our economy in general and for the banking
industry in particular. Asset quality remains an issue for banks
nationwide, including in the Pacific Northwest. President CEO Carlos
Guangorena states, “We feel adequately reserved for the level of risk in
our portfolio. While there have been some loan losses, Plaza Bank is
still well-capitalized and the profitable 4th quarter lays the
foundation for continued earnings growth in 2010.”

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“How is it you’re being so great big?” ~ Tweedledee to
Alice—she’s eaten far too much cake and grown to enormous heights

WALT DISNEY PICTURES AND BUENA VISTA RECORDS JOIN FORCES WITH HOT
TOPIC, KIIS-FM, MYSPACE AND MUSICAL ARTISTS FROM “ALMOST ALICE” FOR
ULTIMATE FAN EVENT FEB. 19, 2010, AT HOLLYWOOD HIGHLAND CENTER

Film Stars, Filmmakers and Artists 3OH!3, Metro Station, Family Force
5, Kerli and Never Shout Never on Concert Roster; Entire Event to be
Streamed Live on MySpace

SmartMusic subscriptions total 135,527

MINNEAPOLIS — MakeMusic, Inc. (NASDAQ: MMUS) today announced monthly subscription
results for SmartMusic®,
the music learning software for band, orchestra and voice. SmartMusic
subscriptions as of January month-end numbered 135,527, representing a
net gain 1,745 from the previous month and a 25% increase over the prior
year.

SmartMusic
GradebookTM, the web-based student grading and records
management system included with SmartMusic, showed 2,067 teachers have
issued assignments, a 27% increase over January of last year. Gradebook
teachers, those having issued assignments to 50 or more students,
totaled 994 at the end of January. This is a 43% increase compared to
695 Gradebook teachers at the end of January of last year.

Finally, the number of SmartMusic educator accounts was 9,335 compared
to 9,269 at the end of December, an increase of 66 accounts.

SmartMusic monthly site license totals are shown in the SmartMusic
metrics table below:

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New Brand Introduces New Capabilities and Enhanced Services Providing
a Local and Flexible Approach to Travel, Expense and Cash Flow
Management with a Focus on ROI

NEW YORK — Regardless of company size, business travel is frequently one of the
largest controllable expenses – yet many small to mid-sized companies
may not believe travel management programs are accessible for their
travel budget. To meet these companies’ needs with a range of services
tailored to their unique requirements, American Express Business Travel
has reaffirmed its commitment to small and mid-sized companies with the
launch of aXcentis. Backed by American Express Business Travel’s
global travel management expertise, aXcentis is a newly branded
offer introducing new capabilities and enhanced services focused on
delivering localized, flexible and comprehensive travel management
programs to companies with up to $10 million in annual travel spending.

“The new brand, aXcentis, is part of an enhanced suite of
services and new capabilities designed to address the evolution of small
to mid-sized company needs for sophisticated managed travel programs at
a reasonable cost,” said John Berkley, vice president, U.S. middle
market client segment, American Express Business Travel. “We have a long
history of working with small and mid-sized firms, but many of our
services have not been clearly defined and we saw an opportunity to add
new innovations through one singular offering. It was important to
launch aXcentis as a way to raise awareness about our services
and further demonstrate our commitment to helping these companies get
their travelers back on the road and growing their business.”

Transcending the basic tools and practices traditionally employed by
small and mid-sized businesses, aXcentis can manage 100 percent
of total travel and expense spending focusing on:

Route1 Inc. (”Route1″ or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE: ROI), a security and identity-based services company, today took action to correct previously granted stock options to directors, officers and employees. A review by the TSX Venture Exchange found that approximately 10,000,000 stock options granted between April 27, 2006 and the Companys most recent annual meeting held on September 24, 2009 were granted below the minimum exercise price allowable by the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange or were not publicly disclosed.

As a result of the non-compliance of the stock option grants referred to above, the board of directors (the “Board”) of the Company has cancelled the 6,241,646 outstanding options to directors and employees. Also, following the election of the new board of directors at the Companys annual and special meeting of shareholders, the 3,550,730 options to purchase common shares of the Company held by the outgoing board of directors expired on December 24, 2009 and another 3,700,000 options granted to a former officer of the Company expired on January 27, 2010, ninety days following the termination of such former officer.

After the above, all non-compliant stock options granted by the Company during the noted period have either been cancelled or have expired. The Company currently has 8,000,000 stock options outstanding.

The Board is reviewing compensation arrangements for all employees of Route1 during the first quarter of the 2010 calendar year. As part of the compensation review, the Board expects to issue new stock options that meet all regulatory requirements.

The Company has adopted policies and procedures to ensure all future stock option grants are in compliance with TSX Venture Exchange policies.

OAISYS ®, a
leader in small- to medium-sized business (SMB) and enterprise-class call
recording and contact center management solutions, today announced that Tracer , the industrys leading
digital call recording solution for contact centers, has received a 2009
Product of the Year Award from Technology Marketing Corporations (TMC®)
Customer Interaction Solutions magazine, the leading publication covering
CRM, call centers and teleservices.

“I am pleased to honor OAISYS for their hard work and success. OAISYS has
displayed true innovation and excellence in the development of contact
center recording solutions, and is dedicated to improving the contact
center experience and ROI for the companies that use them,” said Rich Tehrani , CEO,
TMC.

“We are proud to receive Customer Interaction Solutions magazines Product
of the Year Award for our Tracer call recording and interaction management
software,” said Brian Spencer, president of OAISYS. “Tracer delivers a
sophisticated, yet simple to use, highly affordable call recording solution
to the enterprise market. Our customers use Tracer to enhance and protect
revenue streams, reduce agent turnover and associated training costs and
maximize overall profitability of their contact center operations.”

Tracer utilizes patent-pending OAISYS Portable Voice Document (PVD™)
technology to capture telephone-based interactions as digital call
recordings, or voice documents, that are available to store, organize, play
back, annotate and share with others as needed. This core PVD functionality
is paired with Tracers advanced contact center management features,
including employee performance evaluations, the ability to live monitor
calls and generate quality and resource utilization reporting.

Tracer seamlessly integrates with business communications systems from
leading providers such as Avaya, Mitel, Toshiba and ShoreTel, as well as
with most standards-based IP and legacy TDM systems.

Data Driven Marketing Tool

LIKE MANY WINE GEEKS, I have a deep appreciation for the aromatic white varietals. Wines such as muscat, pinot gris, gewurztraminer and riesling — the queen of them all — are so seductive and hypnotically beautiful that between sips youll either find me dabbing some behind my ears or politely schooling chardonnay drinkers to dump their oak juice for something floral, exotic and spicy. These wines are so revered that regions around the world, particularly those blessed with similar coastal climates, such as the Anderson Valley and appellations in the Pacific Northwest, refer to their versions as Alsatian in style. You can sample aromatic white wines from 33 wineries at the International Alsace Varietals Festival, Feb. 20 and 21 in Mendocino County. The Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association is behind the festival, which has grown steadily yet quietly since its inception five years ago. Its not a shoulder-to-shoulder, large-scale booze fest, like ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) or the other wine events that fill San Franciscos Fort Mason. Rather, surrounded by the unfettered beauty of the Anderson Valley, the festival is a great opportunity to spend some quality time with these charming dry white wines. As far as I know, it is also the only festival dedicated to these wines (Chateau Ste. Michelles Riesling Rendezvous focuses on that grape). And the Anderson Valley certainly has the history to back it up. You may associate the coastal region with pinot noir, but gewurztraminer plantings predate those of the thin-skinned red grape, says Kristy Charles, executive director of the association.
Ivy (Ivie) Our sweet little mom, Ivie Laurene Solomon Hepner, gently passed from this earth on February 1, 2010 in Sandy, Utah at the age of 84.Our mother was born at home in Granger, Utah to Melvin and Everean Nielson Solomon on June 24, 1925. She was raised on a farm in a family of seven brothers and sisters. She learned her gardening skills at an early age. She loved and worked with dedication in her gardens and often had people stop to express how beautiful they were.

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WASHINGTON — Residents and businesses affected by tornadoes, severe storms and
flooding that occurred on Jan. 21 in Bradford County, can apply for
low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration,
SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills announced today.

Administrator Mills made the loans available in response to a letter
from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Jan. 29, requesting a disaster
declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers the county of Bradford
and the adjacent counties of Alachua, Baker, Clay, Putnam and Union in
Florida.

“The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of Florida with
the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist
homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes with federal disaster
loans,” said Administrator Mills. “Getting our businesses and
communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at
SBA.”

“Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace
damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible
for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed
personal property,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Disaster Field
Operations Center in Atlanta. SBA’s customer service representatives
will be on hand at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center to answer questions
about the disaster loan program, explain the process, issue and help
individuals complete their applications.

The Center will be located in the following community and will open as
indicated:

WASHINGTON — Residents and businesses affected by tornadoes, severe storms and
flooding that occurred on Jan. 21 in Bradford County, can apply for
low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration,
SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills announced today.

Administrator Mills made the loans available in response to a letter
from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Jan. 29, requesting a disaster
declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers the county of Bradford
and the adjacent counties of Alachua, Baker, Clay, Putnam and Union in
Florida.

“The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of Florida with
the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist
homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes with federal disaster
loans,” said Administrator Mills. “Getting our businesses and
communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at
SBA.”

“Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace
damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible
for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed
personal property,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Disaster Field
Operations Center in Atlanta. SBA’s customer service representatives
will be on hand at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center to answer questions
about the disaster loan program, explain the process, issue and help
individuals complete their applications.

The Center will be located in the following community and will open as
indicated:

MISSOULA, Mont. — Treasure State Bank (“the Bank”) (OTCBB:TRSU), a Montana chartered
community bank, today announced

For more information regarding this release or the Bank in general, you
may contact James A. Salisbury, President and CEO at 406-543-8700.

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Genoil Inc. (the “Corporation”) (TSX VENTURE: GNO) (OTCBB: GNOLF) is pleased to announce that it has closed a private placement, whereby it issued a total of 4,712,305 Units, at a price of U.S. $0.13 per Unit, each Unit consisting of one common share and one common share purchase warrants (the “Warrants”) for gross proceeds of approximately U.S. $612,600. The Warrants are exercisable until 24 months following their issue date at a price of U.S. $0.20. The common shares and Warrants issued in connection with this offering are subject to a four-month hold period.

Genoil has also completed a shares for debt transaction to satisfy amounts outstanding to certain lenders (the “Creditors”) of the Corporation. Common shares and common share purchase warrants (”Creditor Warrants”) were issued pursuant to debt cancellation agreements between the Corporation and the Creditors, whereby each of the Creditors agreed to forgive and cancel debts currently owing to such Creditor by the Corporation. The total debt owing to the Creditors which has been cancelled is an aggregate amount of U.S.$85,896.09, which amounts have been cancelled in exchange for issuance of an aggregate of 649,258 common shares and 37,314 Creditor Warrants. The Creditor Warrants are exercisable until 24 months following their issue date at a price of U.S. $0.20. The common shares and Creditor Warrants issued to the Creditors are subject to a four-month hold period.

The securities to be issued by the Corporation have not and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption therefrom under the 1933 Act and the securities laws of all applicable states.

Genoil is an international engineering technology development company based in Alberta, Canada, that develops innovative hydrocarbon, oil and water separation, and marine technologies for the oil and gas and commercial marine industries. Genoils shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GNO, as well as on the OTC Bulletin Board under GNOLF.OB.

Genoil Inc. (the “Corporation”) (TSX VENTURE: GNO) (OTCBB: GNOLF) is pleased to announce that it has closed a private placement, whereby it issued a total of 4,712,305 Units, at a price of U.S. $0.13 per Unit, each Unit consisting of one common share and one common share purchase warrants (the “Warrants”) for gross proceeds of approximately U.S. $612,600. The Warrants are exercisable until 24 months following their issue date at a price of U.S. $0.20. The common shares and Warrants issued in connection with this offering are subject to a four-month hold period.

Genoil has also completed a shares for debt transaction to satisfy amounts outstanding to certain lenders (the “Creditors”) of the Corporation. Common shares and common share purchase warrants (”Creditor Warrants”) were issued pursuant to debt cancellation agreements between the Corporation and the Creditors, whereby each of the Creditors agreed to forgive and cancel debts currently owing to such Creditor by the Corporation. The total debt owing to the Creditors which has been cancelled is an aggregate amount of U.S.$85,896.09, which amounts have been cancelled in exchange for issuance of an aggregate of 649,258 common shares and 37,314 Creditor Warrants. The Creditor Warrants are exercisable until 24 months following their issue date at a price of U.S. $0.20. The common shares and Creditor Warrants issued to the Creditors are subject to a four-month hold period.

The securities to be issued by the Corporation have not and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption therefrom under the 1933 Act and the securities laws of all applicable states.

Genoil is an international engineering technology development company based in Alberta, Canada, that develops innovative hydrocarbon, oil and water separation, and marine technologies for the oil and gas and commercial marine industries. Genoils shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GNO, as well as on the OTC Bulletin Board under GNOLF.OB.

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New Release Delivers a Capture Enabled Financial Process Automation
Solution on a Single Platform

IRVINE, Calif. — Kofax plc (LSE: KFX), the leading provider of document driven
business process automation solutions, today announced a new release of
the MarkView Financial Suite, a comprehensive set of capture enabled
financial process automation solutions on a single platform that
automates accounts payable and other processes.

Release 6.5 is the first release following the acquisition of 170
Systems by Kofax during September 2009 and fully integrates Kofax’s
industry leading capture software to create a complete end-to-end
financial process automation solution. This enables the automated
receipt and capture of paper and electronic documents, extraction and
perfection of the data and workflows for routing transactions through
exception handling and approvals on one unified platform.

“Release 6.5 is designed to help customers realize lower costs by
providing a single, consistent end-to-end process for handling all paper
and electronic invoices,” said Jim Nicol, Executive Vice President of
Products at Kofax. “This new release reflects our commitment to best
leverage assets from the 170 Systems acquisition to deliver a financial
process automation platform that is simple to deploy and use while
reducing a customer’s total cost of ownership.”

“As a champion of the E-Payables AXIS Report, Kofax solutions should be
strongly considered by all A/P departments contemplating an A/P
transformation/automation project,” said Andrew Bartolini, Vice
President of Global Supply Management Research at Aberdeen.

TAL completes software upgrade and is now using Lawson Smart Office
to for a more effective enterprise software user experience

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Lawson Software (Nasdaq:LWSN) today announced that TAL
Group, a leading garment manufacturer based in Hong Kong, has gone
live on the latest version of the Lawson enterprise software system for
the fashion
industry. In addition, TAL is now using Lawson
Smart Office to help improve productivity across its global
operations.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, TAL is the world leader in the production of
innovative clothes that combine style, comfort and functionality. It
specializes in the manufacturing of quality men’s and women’s garments
for the world’s leading brands such as Liz Claiborne, Brooks Brothers,
JCPenney, LL Bean, Giordano, Banana Republic, Uniqlo, and Polo Ralph
Lauren. Currently, the company produces one out of six men’s dress
shirts imported into the United States.

The company launched a system upgrade of Lawson enterprise applications
in Hong Kong, mainland China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The project kicked off in May 2009 and the company went live on the new
Lawson applications in January 2010, on time and on budget.

“TAL is considered an industry leader in the supply chain area,” said
Dr. Delman Lee, director of technology for TAL. “This upgrade and
implementation of the Lawson Smart Office technology has really
propelled us to the next level in supply chain management. The ability
for users to personalize their user experience in Smart Office is a
highly effective way to help users work in a more productive and dynamic
manner.”

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PR pros looking to earn more than their fair
share of the Epicurian media pie and maximize food, drink and restaurant
publicity in glossies, dailies, TV and blogs need to attend this new
webinar titled:
“Top 10 Foodie Trends for 2010: Americas Leading Food and Beverage Media
Reveal Best New Epicurean Topics and PR Pitching Tips”

This exclusive PR University webinar takes place on
Thursday February, 11, at 1PM EST (noon CST, 11AM MST; 10AM PST).

Regina Ragone , Food Director, Family
Circle (circ. 3,914,927)

Kay Logsdon , Managing Editor, The Food
Channel

DALLAS — Affiliated
Computer Services, Inc. (NYSE: ACS) today announced it has won a
competitively-bid contract renewal to process child support payments for
the Ohio
Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). The new contract has
a potential nine-year term, consisting of a one-year base and four
two-year options, and is valued at $163 million if all option years are
exercised.

ACS, a leader in the field of child support systems and services, has
operated Ohio’s Child Support Payment Central (CSPC) since 2002,
providing payment processing, customer service and other
mission-critical functions. Nearly all custodial parents in the state
receive child support payments electronically by direct deposit or the Ohio
e-QuickPay debit card, an ACS innovation that provides convenience,
flexibility and relief from check cashing fees.

“Through innovative technology, ACS has helped the State of Ohio more
efficiently operate one of the largest child support processing
facilities in the country,” said Jeffrey Aldridge, deputy director,
Office of Child Support, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
“ACS’ efforts are helping the state to deliver funds faster to our
program participants.”

ACS processes half of the nation’s child support payments, more than $13
billion, providing services in 15 states.

“For eight years, we have worked closely with the state to ensure that
we provide them with a best-fit program,” said Joseph
Doherty, executive vice president and group president, ACS
Government Solutions. “We are now focused on evolving our child
support solutions so that they continue to exceed expectations.”

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. — A free Heart Failure Community Education Evening will be held from 6:00
p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at the Apple Valley
Medical Center.

“Heart disease continues to be a leading cause of death in men and
women,” said Aaron Trygstad, MD, family practice physician with the
Apple Valley Medical Clinic and one of two speakers that evening. Common
risk factors for heart disease include high cholesterol, high blood
pressure, lung disease, obesity and diabetes. “There are multiple
lifestyle changes that one can make to decrease those risks,” added
Trygstad, who will speak on “Preventing Heart Problems Before They
Start” beginning at 6:30 p.m.

At 7:00 p.m., Alan Bank, MD, cardiologist with the St. Paul Heart
Clinic, will present “Heart Failure: What Can the Cardiologist Do For
You?” Heart failure, one form of heart disease, is a condition in which
the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. According to
the American Heart Association, more than 5.7 million Americans are
living with heart failure, and 670,000 new cases are diagnosed every
year. New treatments for heart failure include surgical treatments and
device therapy, such as biventricular pacing and defibrillation.

“We are committed to providing the community with practical health care
information,” said Adam Berry, FACHE, Administrator and Chief Operating
Officer of Apple Valley Medical Center. “We have been an integral part
of the south metro health care community since 1974 and take our role as
educators very seriously.” Attendees of the February 9 event will be
offered free blood pressure screenings, along with a free light supper
and health care displays on heart-related topics.

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Chief of Radiology at El Camino Hospital Available for Comment

El Camino Hospital is an acute care, 542-bed, not-for-profit and
locally-governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los
Gatos, Calif. In addition to a state-of-the-art emergency department,
key medical specialty focuses include cancer care, heart and vascular,
neuroscience, genomic medicine, orthopedic and spine and women’s health.

Delegates representing at least 27 countries are
expected to gather soon at the 2010 European Hospitality Technology
Educational Conference (EHTEC). The conference, produced by Hospitality
Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), offers two full days of
focused technology education and various networking opportunities with
peers and vendors. It is February 14-16 at the Amsterdam Hilton in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

“EHTEC is a small boutique conference designed for networking, education
and the sharing of ideas,” said Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO of HFTP. “The fact
that so many countries are represented this year is an excellent example of
the need for this kind of event.”

Over the past four years, the popular conference has been instrumental in
bringing the latest technology information to its attendees. The EHTEC
Advisory Council, a group of global hospitality experts, designed the
education program to highlight tough technology issues like the recessions
impact on technology, cloud computing, mobile distribution,
green/sustainable technology and more. This years conference also focuses
on knowledge sharing and how to most effectively use the information gained
during EHTEC 2010.

Multi-year agreement provides access to all Tenet hospitals,
outpatient centers and employed physicians

DALLAS — Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) today announced that it signed
a multi-year agreement with MultiPlan, Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2010. The
agreement includes participation in the PHCS (formerly Private
Healthcare Systems) Network, the MultiPlan Network and, in select
markets, PHCS Savility, which is MultiPlan’s newest primary PPO network.

The agreement includes all hospitals owned and operated by Tenet
subsidiaries as well as Tenets 59 freestanding diagnostic imaging
centers and ambulatory surgery centers. Tenet Physicians, Inc., which
contracts for the more than 400 physicians employed by various Tenet
subsidiaries, also is part of the new agreement. The physicians
represented by Tenet Physicians, Inc. include traditional primary care
specialties (family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology
and pediatrics), as well as medical and surgical specialties.

“We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with
MultiPlan,” said Clint Hailey, Tenet’s chief managed care officer.
“National contracts with PPO networks like those offered by MultiPlan
allow us to standardize and simplify payment methodologies across all of
our facilities. MultiPlan is one of Tenet’s top 10 largest health care
partners when ranked by revenue.”

“Tenet Healthcare is recognized for its commitment to quality health
care,” said Dale White, executive vice president of sales and account
management at MultiPlan. “We are delighted we can continue to offer our
clients and their members access to this health system and its employed
physicians.”

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Integration Platform Sets the Bar for Low-Cost, Low-Risk System
Implementations

POWELL, Ohio — Click4Care,
a leading provider of care
management software for payors, today announced that it has forged a
partnership with iWay Software, a provider of service oriented
architecture-based (SOA) enterprise
integration tools, to help Click4Care clients quickly and
cost-effectively integrate disparate information technology (IT) systems
with its award-winning care management platform. iWay’s streamlined,
scaleable and robust integration model enables healthcare
payors to rapidly interface Click4Care’s software with their claims
processing system, member and provider databases, decision support,
document management and other best-of-breed IT applications.

“With a rapidly aging population and nearly half of all adult Americans
living with a chronic condition, the payor community will face even
greater pressure to promote and provide higher quality and
cost-effective care management,” said Gerald Cohen, CEO and president of
iWay. “To successfully achieve this goal, payors must integrate data and
workflows that currently reside in separate IT systems, enabling them to
collaborate and share information more efficiently with care managers,
members and providers.”

Cohen continues, “By combining iWay’s powerful solutions and SOA
integration approach with Click4Care’s innovative care management
platform, payors will mitigate technology implementation risks and
enhance their ability to keep members healthier, identify at-risk
members more quickly and thoroughly, improve physician satisfaction and
collaboration, and gain greater control over their financial and
operational outcomes.”

“In working with payors of all sizes, we noticed a trend toward adopting
sophisticated, member-centric care management approaches that leverage
the interoperability and data integration of multiple IT systems,” said
Rob Gillette, Click4Care’s CEO. “Click4Care’s strategic relationship
with iWay helps our clients more readily design and deploy these
technology-driven programs to ultimately enhance the quality of member
care, improve member satisfaction, advance care coordination, and reduce
clinical and administrative costs.”

The president has done it again: called Guantanamo Bay a “recruiting tool,” something that causes Muslims to join up with the jihad. He said, “Make no mistake: We will close Guantanamo Prison, which has damaged our national-security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al-Qaeda.
Nevada officials said the state may drop out of Medicaid if the health-care bill passes. Instead it would help its low-income legal residents participate in the federally subsidized exchanges that the bill would establish. The resulting insurance policies would doubtless be more attractive to beneficiaries than Medicaid is.

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Market Pulse News Alert for this AM, Stocks to
Watch are: IC Places, Inc. (OTCBB: ICPA), Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Health Discovery Corp. (OTCBB: HDVY) and SIRIUS XM Radio
Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI).

IC Places, Inc. (OTCBB: ICPA) is pleased to announce its collaboration with
Ooyala to provide a customized video experience for the IC Places Network
of City Websites. IC Places technicians worked with Ooyalas teams to
create a customized player that fits with IC Places look and feel. With
the new player, IC Places visitors now have instant access to rich
collections of videos related to the various cities the company serves.

GOLF: Robert Karlsson completed a stunning comeback from a career threatening eye injury with a three-stroke victory at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters. Karlsson was sidelined for four months last year suffering from blurred vision caused by fluid behind the retina in his left eye, but at Doha Golf Club the 40-year-old was back to his best, which saw him win twice in 2008 to ensure a second successive Ryder Cup appearance.

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ON NOVEMBER 13, a clot of journalists stands in a hailstorm outside a Portland, Oregon, business called Rumpspankers Beyond Broth. Were awaiting a press conference rechristening the business the Cannabis Cafe, the first restaurant where patients licensed by the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) can publicly use marijuana. The event is a half-hour late in starting. Perhaps theres cleaning to do. Rumpspankers, a soup restaurant by day, was until recently an adult entertainment venue by night, hosting a bondage club and a monthly event called “Pants Off Dance Off.” Maybe those already inside–the cafes owners, representatives from the Oregon chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a guy carrying a raft of French pastries–dont hear the banging on the door. Maybe, judging from the skunk smell that rolls out once the door is opened, everyone inside is too euphoric to realize what time it is. “Welcome to freedom!” says Madeline Martinez, all good cheer as she finally presents the cafe, a cavernous room of dinged-up furniture and paper lanterns. As the executive director of Oregon NORML, Martinez previously hosted bimonthly socials for marijuana patients in the ballroom above Rumpspankers, but a seven-day-a-week place to congregate and medicate? That is her dream come true.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) today announced the launch of its new EnCompass™
Environmental Hygiene program, a comprehensive clinical program that
helps hospitals improve patient room hygiene and prevent the spread of
infections. The program includes cleaning tools, products, dispensing
equipment, auditing processes and cleanliness monitoring to help
hospitals clean patient rooms more quickly, consistently and effectively.

“Healthcare organizations recognize the important role that proper
cleaning plays in infection prevention, yet research has found that on
average fewer than half of the high-touch surfaces are cleaned in
patient rooms in most hospitals1,” said Paul B. Chaffin, vice
president of Ecolab Healthcare North America. “Ecolab developed
EnCompass to help healthcare providers improve hygiene and reduce the
environmental transmission of pathogens that cause infections.”

Clinical research has shown that patients admitted to rooms previously
occupied by individuals infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) are at
greater risk of acquiring these pathogens, most likely from
environmental surfaces contaminated by the previous patients2,3,4.
With the EnCompass program, Ecolab Healthcare offers hospitals a way to
reduce those risks, including:

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First the RACs, now wait for whats coming next Medicaid, commercial insurers starting their audits By the end of the year, its likely that every type of medical record in your hospital will be scrutinized by one auditor or another, predicts Brian Flood, managing director for KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax, and advisory firm. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfares Bureau of Program Integrity has been auditing fee-for-service Medicaid claims for the past three years, using one of the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS) contractors for the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) demonstration project, reports Charleeda Redman, RN, MSN, ACM, director of corporate case management for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an integrated health system with 20 acute care hospitals.
SUPPORTERS OF health care reform need money–a lot of money–to pay for it. So its not surprising that they would try to get it from the people with the most money to spare. Hence the so-called millionaires tax, a levy embedded in the House health care bill. As the noted philanthropist (with other peoples money) and House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), explained, lawmakers are targeting big earners because it “causes the least amount of pain on the least amount of people.” Thats the theory, anyway. In fact, the millionaires tax is a good example of how poorly some politicians understand the policies they propose. At press time, the Senate was still debating the bills details. But the health care bill that the House narrowly approved in November included a 5.4 percent tax on the portion of gross income (which includes capital gains and dividends) that exceeds $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for a couple. The surtax would apply to tax years that begin after December 31, 2010. So the first sign that the tax will hit more than millionaires is the fact that it targets half-millionaires from the get-go. The ideas main selling point is that the increase would hit only 0.3 percent of tax fliers–roughly 400,000 people–yet would raise $460.5 billion over the next 10 years. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the new rate would affect only 1.2 percent of relatively small business owners, including sole proprietorships (that is, businesses owned by just one person), partnerships (owned by a few people), and S corporations (which have up to 75 shareholders). But because the tax isnt indexed for inflation, over time it will apply to more taxpayers as inflation affects income levels. Sound familiar? It should, because this is how the alternative minimum tax (AMT) became such a nightmare. The AMT was created in 1969 to prevent just 155 wealthy taxpayers from using deductions and credits to avoid paying any federal income taxes. Because it was not indexed for inflation, it came to affect an ever-growing share of the population, prompting Congress to pass a patch each year limiting its reach; next year, without the patch, it is projected to strike 27.4 million Americans–nearly 20 percent of the countrys taxpayers. And even with the patch, the AMT hits far more than just millionaires: In 2009, it swept up 4 million
Kaiser/VA/DoD partnership piloting a nationwide EHR network Early testing encouraging; improvements in quality anticipated “The ability to share critical health information is essential to interoperability,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki in announcing the program. “Utilizing the NHINs standards and network will allow organizations like VA and the Department of Defense to partner with private-sector health care providers to promote better, faster, and safer care for veterans.” The pilot program currently connects Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect and the VAs electronic health record system, VistA, two of the largest electronic health record systems in the country. The DoDs ALTA system will be linked to the other two shortly.

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“The scene is Capitol Hill. Its the year 2035. Thousands of elderly protesters assemble outside the Capitol building. Inside, the House Ways and Means Committee meets to enact huge cuts in both Medicare and the national health insurance program.” That is the opening of “The Medicare Monster,” a reason article from January 1993; authors Steven Hayward and Erik Peterson highlighted predictions of Medicares impending fiscal insolvency to warn against the push for government-run health care. Substitute 2017 for 2035, and you could write the scene today. Hayward and Petersons cautionary tale pointed out that Medicare costs had been dramatically underestimated from the inception of the program in 1966. Medicare cost $3 billion in 1966. A “conservative” estimate by the House Ways and Means Committee in 1966 projected that Medicare would cost $12 billion after inflation by 1990. The actual 1990 cost was nearly nine times more: $107 billion. Today Medicare costs $408 billion, consuming about 13 percent of the total federal budget. Since 1993 projections about Medicares eventual date of bankruptcy have oscillated considerably. In 1997 the Medicare Trustees projected that its hospital fund would be depleted by the middle of 2000. Fiscal collapse was avoided when the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 imposed what amounted to price controls on physicians and hospitals. As a consequence, in 2000 the Medicare Trustees sunnily projected that the program would be solvent through 2029. Nine years later, the latest Medicare Trustees report projects that the hospital fund (Part A) will be depleted by 2017. The trustees assert that bringing it into actuarial balance during the next 75 years will require either immediately raising the Medicare payroll tax from 2.9 percent to 6.78 percent or cutting current benefits by 53 percent. Medicare Part B, which pays for outpatient care and doctor bills, and the recently added Part D, which pays for prescription drugs, are “both projected to remain adequately financed into the indefinite future because current law automatically provides financing each year to meet next years expected costs.” Translation: About 75 percent of Medicare funds spent on doctors and drugs come from general tax revenue.
As the Met office issues flood warnings this week, motorists could be left submerged – both literally and financially.

Flooding can cause extensive damage to a vehicle, both to the bodywork and the engine. Drivers can face extremely high repair bills or worse still have their car written off. It is estimated that nearly 27% of UK drivers may not be insured if their vehicle is damaged as a result of flooding.

The North East of England has been issued with a Flood Warning with the Midlands, South West Greater London areas being issued with Flood Watch warnings.

Leading high street insurance retailer, Swinton is advising UK drivers to check their car insurance policy for flood cover as many drivers may not be covered should their vehicle be damaged.

Steve Chelton, Swintons Insurer Development Manager said: “Some drivers choose third party only or third party fire and theft policies because they are less expensive and easy to understand. However these car insurance policies might not provide cover for flood damage and it is crucial that drivers are conscious of what is and isnt included in their policy.”

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Tonight, LIVESTRONG released the following
statement from its President and CEO Doug Ulman, a three-time cancer
survivor, regarding President Barack Obamas State of the Union address:

“Tonight, President Obama renewed the drive for comprehensive health care
reform, calling for a reexamination of the plan on the table but opening
the door for other options.”

“The cancer community doesnt care about the method, whether its piece by
piece or in an omnibus bill. What we care about is change that creates
affordable care and an end to unethical practices by insurers that wreak
havoc on our lives.”

“The President made clear that hes heard our call for reform and will
continue to make a just, affordable system a priority.”

ATLANTA — Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading international supplier of On-Demand
software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry, today
announced that it will be reporting its fourth quarter and full year
results around the 8th of March 2010.

The Company also announced strong growth in cash generated by operating
activities during the fourth quarter of 2009 in the approximate amount
of $10.3 million. After paying approximately $34.6 million in cash for
two acquisitions (Peak and EZ Data) and the purchase of a new building
in India in Q4 of 2009, the Company’s cash balance as of 31st
December 2009 was approximately $19.1 million.

Furthermore, Ebix also announced that it intends to resume buy back of
Ebix shares under the previously Board approved share repurchase program.

Robin Raina, president and CEO of Ebix, Inc. said, “In recent times, I
have been asked about the decline in stock price and the rather high
shorting numbers on our stock. As the CEO of Ebix and one of the largest
stakeholders, I continue to believe in Ebix and the opportunity to make
Ebix the largest insurance player globally. The Company continues to do
well on all fronts and we expect Q4 results to be in line with our
expectations. We have always believed in letting our numbers speak for
themselves and towards that extent we will continue our efforts to
create new benchmarks in terms of revenues, cash growth, earnings, and
net margins for Ebix.”

Safe Harbor for Forward Looking Statements under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 — This press release
contains various forward looking statements and information that are
based on managements beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and
information currently available to management, including statements
regarding future economic performance and financial condition, liquidity
and capital resources, acceptance of the Companys products by the
market and managements plans and objectives. The Company has tried to
identify such forward looking statements by use of words such as
“expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “will,”
“should,” and similar expressions, but these words are not the exclusive
means of identifying such statements. Such statements are subject to
various risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual
results to vary materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the
forward looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors
include the extent to which the Companys new products and services can
be successfully developed and marketed, the integration and other risks
associated with recent and future acquisitions, the willingness of
independent insurance agencies to outsource their computer and other
processing needs to third parties, the Companys ability to continue to
develop new products to effectively address market needs in an industry
characterized by rapid technological change, the Companys dependence on
the insurance industry (and in particular independent agents), the
highly competitive and rapidly changing automation systems market, the
Companys ability to effectively protect its applications software and
other proprietary information, the Companys ability to attract and
retain quality management, and software, technical sales and other
personnel, the potential negative impact on the Companys outsourcing
business in India from adverse publicity and possible governmental
regulation, the risks of disruption of the Companys Internet
connections or internal service problems, the possibly adverse effects
of a substantial increase in volume of traffic on the Companys website,
mainframe and other servers, possible security breaches on the Companys
website and the possible effects of insurance regulation on the
Companys business. Certain of these, as well as other, risks,
uncertainties and other factors, are described in more detail in Ebix’s
periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
the company’s annual report on form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2008, included under “Item 1. Business—Risk Factors.” Except as
expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company
undertakes no obligation to update any such factors or to publicly
update any of the forward looking statements contained herein to reflect
future events or developments or changed circumstances or for any other
reason.

Thousands of new potholes across the UKs roads are wreaking havoc for motorcyclists, warns Swinton Bikes.

Recent Arctic conditions have caused damage to hundreds of roads across the country with estimates of one new pothole for every 100 yards of road.

Swinton, one of the UKs leading high street retailers of motorbike insurance is warning drivers that potholed roles could cause punctures and damage to a bikes suspension.

Potholes are caused by water in surface cracks freezing and then expanding as temperatures plummet, causing road surfaces to break up.

Anthony Aronin, Head of Swinton Bikes said, “Potholes pose a greater hazard to motorcyclists than to any other road-user. Bikers rely on road condition more than car drivers, as uneven surfaces can be felt directly by the rider when steering and cornering. Hitting a pothole can mean a biker will lose control of their motorbike.

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Follow-up calls help avoid readmissions In an effort to improve transitions of care, the nurse care coordinators at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston make follow-up calls to patients who have been discharged, identify problems and solve them, and answer questions the patients may have about medication, symptoms, or their discharge plan. The hospital has an average of 53,693 discharges and 59,323 emergency department visits each year and had a 30-day readmission rate of 8.79% for medical-surgical patients in 2009.
IN APRIL 2008, The Orange County Register published a bombshell of an investigation about a license plate program for California government workers and their families. Drivers of nearly I million cars and light trucks–out of a total 22 million vehicles registered statewide–were protected by a “shield” in the state records system between their license plate numbers and their home addresses. There were, the newspaper found, great practical benefits to this secrecy. “Vehicles with protected license plates can run through dozens of intersections controlled by red light cameras with impunity,” the Registers Jennifer Muir reported. “Parking citations issued to vehicles with protected plates are often dismissed because the process necessary to pierce the shield is too cumbersome. Some patrol officers let drivers with protected plates off with a warning because the plates signal that drivers are one of their own or related to someone who is.” The plate program started in 1978 with the seemingly unobjectionable purpose of protecting the personal addresses of officials who deal directly with criminals. Police argued that the bad guys could call the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), get addresses for officers, and use the information to harm them or their family members. There was no rash of such incidents, only the possibility that they could take place. So police and their families were granted confidentiality. Then the program expanded from one set of government workers to another. Eventually parole officers, retired parking enforcers, DMV desk clerks, county supervisors, social workers, and other categories of employees from 1,800 state agencies were given the special protections too. Meanwhile, the original intent of the shield had become obsolete: The DMV long ago abandoned the practice of giving out personal information about any driver. What was left was not a protection but a perk. Yes, rank has its privileges, and its clear that government workers have a rank above the rest of us. Ordinarily, if one out of every 22 California drivers had a license to drive any way he chose, there would be demands for more police power to protect Californians from the potential carnage. But until the newspaper series, law enforcement officials and legislators had remained mum. The reason, of course, is that the scofflaws are law enforcement officials and legislators.

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HOLLAND, Ohio — Wellstar International, Inc. (OTCBB:WLSID) (“Wellstar”) has announced
that it has reached an agreement to begin a Beta Test in a long term
care facility.

Wellstar has agreed to implement its TMI Imaging system in multiple
nursing homes through an arrangement with a company that currently works
with and supplies care to several hundred long term care facilities.

The Beta Test is scheduled to run for 90 days. During this period,
images of existing patients will be captured on a time schedule. Newly
admitted patients will also be imaged. The newly compiled data that will
be used to determine the specific care required for each patient, as
well as to demonstrate the practical use of the TMI System within the
workplace.

The objective will be to start with one facility and add up to three
additional facilities as the Beta Test progresses. Once the Beta Test is
complete, Wellstar intends to move onto a Gamma Test, although there is
no guarantee. If we are able to implement the Gamma Test, Wellstar
expects to begin charging the long term care facilities for the systems.

Wellstar International, Inc. seeks to be the first-to-market in deep
tissue injury and pressure ulcer detection using its proprietary
infrared imaging system. Thermal Imaging is a low cost, noncontact,
non-radioactive diagnostic screening procedure designed for clinical
evaluation. In addition, thermal imaging provides an ability to track
the progress of therapies being utilized in a low cost, non-invasive
manner. Thermal Imaging can detect signs of pressure ulcers before they
are visible with the naked eye through detection of temperature changes
at the site which allows for treatment of the pressure ulcer before it
erupts. The TMI system can be used to scan all new patients into
hospitals and long-term care facilities prior admittance and begin
treating existing wounds before they are visible.

The floor was shaking, the walls were crumbling and the babies at Ruuska Village Orphanage in Haiti were bouncing out of their cribs. Mandi McBride dived to shelter the screaming toddlers rolling across the ground, risking her life to keep them alive. “I just knew we were all gone,” said the Logan nurse, who has adopted two Haitian children and was on a humanitarian mission at the orphanage when a 7.0 earthquake hit Jan. 12. “I was praying as hard as I could. Ive never been so close to death in my life.” Their orphans are homeless. They cant join their families in America because the Haitian government, worried about human trafficking, has stopped issuing humanitarian parole. And they are running out of food. As horrific as the earthquake was, it wasnt the first twist of fate thats kept these children from their would-be American families. Many have been stuck in limbo for three, four and five years, waiting for adoption paperwork to be finalized. Kidnapping, hunger, sickness and death had already become a part of many hopeful parents lives before the earthquake struck.
NEWTON, Mass. — Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (NYSE Amex: FVE) today announced that it
has scheduled its 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders for May 10, 2010.
The record date for determination of shareholders entitled to vote at
the meeting is February 21, 2010.

Five Star Quality Care, Inc. is a senior living and healthcare services
provider that operates independent and assisted living facilities,
skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation hospitals, institutional
pharmacies and outpatient health rehabilitation clinics. Five Star is
headquartered in Newton, MA.

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“The call for Trade Leaders is being met with overwhelming excitement by
top Forex traders from around the world,” said Currensee CEO Dave Lemont.
“Whether they are successful retail traders who have been doing this for a
few years or professional traders who are managing money, traders want to
be able to spend more time doing what they do best, and thats trading. The
Trade Leader program is a great fit for traders who are confident in their
success, open to the transparency of real trade performance and looking for
a way to be compensated for trading successfully without all of the
administration and effort. It is a win for the Trade Leader and a win for
our Forex trading social network.”

“I am excited about the opportunity to be a Trade Leader on Currensee,”
said Alex Kazmarck, currency strategist at SpotEuro. “I have been trading
for years and am always looking for new business opportunities that let me
do what I love and help others. Currensee gives me the chance to focus on
my trading and generate income based on successful trades, while helping
Forex traders at the same time. The best part is that they handle all the
administration and headaches. Any great Forex trader should want to
participate.”

“Im delighted to be joining the Currensee revolution,” shares Shaun Downey
on his new appointment. “Currensee offers a unique link between the
professional and retail arenas with a rare common denominator. The platform
offers transparency and a fresh new way to analyze the market based on what
the community is doing now, which, I am convinced, will change the tools
Forex traders are using and the way they look at the market. The
opportunities are really exciting.”

Shaun Downey has played a variety of roles trading and brokering for
leading financial institutions globally. He has worked for Fulton Prebon
trading Bond Futures, and while in Australia headed trading for AFP,
specializing in stock options and convertible note arbitrage, while
advising and trading the groups global interest rate and currency
exposure. While at Reuters, he was part of the design and launch team of
the Globex platform. Mr. Downey is an active member of the Currensee trader
network and also provides select mentoring services, contributes content to
the traderslaboratory.com forum and posts on Twitter @Shaun_Downey.

“The call for Trade Leaders is being met with overwhelming excitement by
top Forex traders from around the world,” said Currensee CEO Dave Lemont.
“Whether they are successful retail traders who have been doing this for a
few years or professional traders who are managing money, traders want to
be able to spend more time doing what they do best, and thats trading. The
Trade Leader program is a great fit for traders who are confident in their
success, open to the transparency of real trade performance and looking for
a way to be compensated for trading successfully without all of the
administration and effort. It is a win for the Trade Leader and a win for
our Forex trading social network.”

“I am excited about the opportunity to be a Trade Leader on Currensee,”
said Alex Kazmarck, currency strategist at SpotEuro. “I have been trading
for years and am always looking for new business opportunities that let me
do what I love and help others. Currensee gives me the chance to focus on
my trading and generate income based on successful trades, while helping
Forex traders at the same time. The best part is that they handle all the
administration and headaches. Any great Forex trader should want to
participate.”

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Articles Appear on EE Times’ GreenSupplyLine.com and in Advanced
Imaging Pro Magazine

SAN FRANCISCO — The 1394 Trade Association has published a pair of new technical
articles detailing innovative applications of the 1394 (FireWire)
standard in security camera designs, and in systems used to measure the
operating condition of industrial equipment such as wind turbines.

Both new articles were developed by Burke Henehan, a former Texas
Instruments Corporation engineer and veteran of FireWire applications
development.

IN APRIL 2008, The Orange County Register published a bombshell of an investigation about a license plate program for California government workers and their families. Drivers of nearly I million cars and light trucks–out of a total 22 million vehicles registered statewide–were protected by a “shield” in the state records system between their license plate numbers and their home addresses. There were, the newspaper found, great practical benefits to this secrecy. “Vehicles with protected license plates can run through dozens of intersections controlled by red light cameras with impunity,” the Registers Jennifer Muir reported. “Parking citations issued to vehicles with protected plates are often dismissed because the process necessary to pierce the shield is too cumbersome. Some patrol officers let drivers with protected plates off with a warning because the plates signal that drivers are one of their own or related to someone who is.” The plate program started in 1978 with the seemingly unobjectionable purpose of protecting the personal addresses of officials who deal directly with criminals. Police argued that the bad guys could call the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), get addresses for officers, and use the information to harm them or their family members. There was no rash of such incidents, only the possibility that they could take place. So police and their families were granted confidentiality. Then the program expanded from one set of government workers to another. Eventually parole officers, retired parking enforcers, DMV desk clerks, county supervisors, social workers, and other categories of employees from 1,800 state agencies were given the special protections too. Meanwhile, the original intent of the shield had become obsolete: The DMV long ago abandoned the practice of giving out personal information about any driver. What was left was not a protection but a perk. Yes, rank has its privileges, and its clear that government workers have a rank above the rest of us. Ordinarily, if one out of every 22 California drivers had a license to drive any way he chose, there would be demands for more police power to protect Californians from the potential carnage. But until the newspaper series, law enforcement officials and legislators had remained mum. The reason, of course, is that the scofflaws are law enforcement officials and legislators.
PARK CITY — When it comes to Sundance, there are star-gazers, and then there are autograph/picture seekers. With our $20 parking tab paid, we strolled from the top of Main Street, down and up and down again. It doesnt take long before the buzz spreads that actor Ben Affleck has been spotted; and its even quicker to figure out where he is.

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SAN DIEGO — Green Star Alternative Energy, Inc. (Pink Sheets: GSAE) announced today
that the Company’s Board of Directors has set January 29, 2010 as the
Record Date for the planned stock dividend that was previously
announced. The dividend is to be paid to the Company’s stockholders of
record on the record date.

The stock dividend is equal to three additional shares of the Company’s
Common Stock for every four shares of the Company’s Common Stock
outstanding. The Company’s stockholders will need to surrender the stock
certificate they currently hold representing the existing (old) shares
to obtain the new stock certificate representing the new shares.

In announcing the stock dividend, the Company’s Board of Directors noted
that the dividend was subject to approval by the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which has now been obtained.

Green Star Alternative Energy is an environmentally conscious, renewable
energy company working to develop more than 300 MW (megawatts) of
clean electricity through wind
energy. The corporate revenue model is two-fold: the use of a
renewable resource allows not only for the creation of environmentally
friendly energy, but the granting of carbon
(greenhouse gas) emission credits which may be traded and sold.
Green Star is pursuing a significant opportunity to provide clean energy
to the growing Republic of Serbia and neighbouring European countries.
Through a joint venture with key wind
farm and power trading company Notos, Green Star will become the
nations first developer of wind power. GSAE is focused on green
technology and sustainable energy programs like wind turbines, hydro
electric power generation, and other renewable electricity models.

A replay of the conference call will also be available for one week by
calling 888-266-2081, or 703-925-2533 from international locations. The
access code for this call is 1427610.

The audio webcast will remain available on Intuit’s Web site for one
week after the conference call.

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Funds Will Help Bring More Technology to K-12 Classrooms Across
the U.S.

NEW YORK — Doing IT for Good (DITFG), the corporate philanthropy platform of
strategic advisory firm Landmark Ventures, today announces Digital Wish
as the 2010 beneficiary of a $50,000 financial and consulting grant.
Digital Wish is an online forum where teachers can find funding for
their technology wish lists, and communities can engage with local
schools with the goal of modernizing K-12 classrooms with technology and
preparing students for tomorrows workforce.

DITFG focuses on leveraging Landmark’s experience and relationships
across the technology and financial sectors toward the support of
deserving nonprofits. The program aims to encourage new methods of
corporate social responsibility and increase the social impact of
Landmark’s company, community and network.

“The selection of Digital Wish provides a unique opportunity for the
DITFG network to apply its expertise and thought leadership to support a
promising organization at a critical stage of development,” said
Landmark Ventures General Partner Zeev Klein. “And through their work of
connecting teachers and corporations to bring technology into local
classrooms, working with Digital Wish will allow us to support an
extensive underserved community of thousands of K-12 students.”

“We are very thankful to Doing IT for Good for selecting Digital Wish as
the grant recipient. We currently have more than 116,000 schools listed
on Digital Wish, 26,037 educators and donor registrants from all 50
states, and source over 700 technology products from 54 vendors. This
grant will help us increase these numbers and strengthen our foundation
so we can continue to help today’s students become tomorrow’s leaders,”
said Digital Wish Founder and Executive Director Heather Chirtea.

City officials in Kensington, Maryland, have barred children older than 5 from Reinhardt Park between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The move is aimed at preventing students at a nearby private school from using the park during recess.

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Strong Commercial Loan and Core Deposit Growth Continues

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Bancorp Rhode Island, Inc. (NASDAQ: BARI), the parent company of Bank
Rhode Island, today reported net income of $2.1 million, or $0.44
diluted earnings per share (EPS), for the quarter ended December 31,
2009, compared to net income of $2.3 million, or $0.48 diluted EPS,
after preferred stock dividends and discount accretion, for the fourth
quarter 2008.

Net income for 2009 was $6.5 million, or $0.90 diluted EPS, after
preferred stock dividends and discount accretion, compared to net income
of $9.1 million, or $1.96 diluted EPS, after preferred stock dividends
and discount accretion for 2008. The Company noted that during the third
quarter 2009, it repurchased its preferred stock and the warrant to
purchase its common stock previously issued to the U.S. Treasury
Department. The repurchase of the preferred stock and the discount
accretion associated with its issuance had a negative impact on the
Company’s EPS of $0.49 per share for 2009 and $0.01 per share for 2008.

The net interest margin for the fourth quarter 2009 was 3.42 percent, an
increase of 13 basis points from the fourth quarter 2008 and an increase
of 4 basis points from third quarter 2009. For 2009, the net interest
margin was 3.25 percent, an increase of 4 basis points compared to 2008.

At December 31, 2009, the Company’s tier 1 capital ratio was
approximately 7.6 percent and its total risk-based capital ratio
exceeded 12.0 percent.

Net loss available to common shareholders of $0.34 per share for
fourth quarter

Non-performing assets ended the quarter at 2.38% of total assets

Deposits increased $225 million, or 3%, during fourth quarter, and
13% for full year

Non-interest bearing demand deposits increased 5% during fourth
quarter, 12% for full year

Reduction in loans past due 30-89 days of 10% during fourth quarter,
30% for full year

ATLANTA — The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding small businesses
affected by the severe storms, flooding, tornadoes and straight-line
winds that occurred between May 17-28, 2009 that March 1 is the
filing deadline for Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

Small businesses and most private non-profit organizations in the
following counties are eligible to apply for SBA Economic Injury
Disaster Loans: Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Putnam and
Volusia in Florida.

Loans are available up to $2 million for eligible entities that suffered
substantial economic injury from the disaster. These working capital
loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and
other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred.
These loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

The interest rate on these loans is 4 percent, with a maximum term of 30
years. The SBA determines the amount of economic injury and the terms of
each loan based on the financial circumstances of the borrower.
Eligibility for the program is based on the size and type of business,
and its financial resources.

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Chattem, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTT) announced that, pursuant to the terms of
the indentures (the “Indentures”) governing its 2.00% convertible senior
notes due 2013 and 1.625% convertible senior notes due 2014
(collectively, the “Notes”), it anticipates that a Fundamental Change
(as such term is defined in the respective Indentures) may occur on or
after February 9, 2010 (the “Fundamental Change”) as a result of the
proposed transactions contemplated by the Agreement and Plan of Merger,
dated December 20, 2009 (the “Merger Agreement”), among Chattem,
sanofi-aventis, a French société anonyme (”sanofi”), and River
Acquisition Corp., a Tennessee corporation and an indirect wholly-owned
subsidiary of sanofi (”Merger Sub”).

As previously announced, on January 11, 2010, Merger Sub commenced a
tender offer (the “Offer”) for all outstanding shares of common stock of
Chattem (including the associated preferred stock purchase rights) (the
“Common Stock”) at a purchase price of $93.50 net per share in cash,
without interest and subject to any required withholding taxes. The
Offer is scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on
February 8, 2010, unless extended. The consummation of the Offer is
conditioned on the tender of a majority of shares of Common Stock on a
fully-diluted basis (as defined in the Merger Agreement), as well as the
receipt of certain customary closing conditions.

Following the successful consummation of the Offer, Merger Sub is
expected to merge with and into Chattem (the “Merger”), and the
outstanding shares of Common Stock not tendered in the Offer will be
converted into the right to receive $93.50 net per share in cash,
without interest and subject to any required withholding taxes, as paid
in the Offer.

Chattem anticipates that the Fundamental Change will occur on the date
that Merger Sub accepts shares of Common Stock for payment pursuant to
the Offer (the “Fundamental Change Effective Date”), which is expected
to occur on or after February 9, 2010. Pursuant to the Indentures, the
holders of the Notes have the right to convert their Notes according to
the terms of the Indentures at any time before the close of business on
the business day immediately preceding the 45th day after the
Fundamental Change Effective Date. Each of the Offer and Merger is
subject to certain closing conditions and there can be no assurance that
the Offer or the Merger will be consummated on the expected dates, or at
all.

Chattem has specified a Cash Percentage (as such term is defined in the
respective Indentures) of 100% to be in effect for any conversion
occurring in connection with the Fundamental Change until such time as
Chattem provides notice of retraction of such election, to the extent
permitted by the Indentures. Therefore, unless and until Chattem
provides notice of retraction of the Cash Percentage election, holders
of the Notes who choose to convert their Notes will receive only cash
upon conversion.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (”First Quantum”) (TSX: FM)(LSE: FQM) and Kiwara PLC (”Kiwara”) (AIM: KIW)(JSE: KWR) (Registration number: 01760458)(ISIN: GB0007702953) today announce that following the approval by Kiwaras shareholders of the proposed scheme of arrangement (as announced on 11 January 2010) pursuant to which First Quantum would acquire the entire issued share capital of Kiwara (the “Scheme”), trading in the Kiwara shares has been suspended on AIM today, January 28, 2010, pending the Court hearing being held later today to sanction the Scheme. The trade in the shares will be suspended on the JSE on Monday, 1 February 2010 and terminated from commencement of business on Tuesday, 9 February 2010, or such later date as may be requested by Kiwara and approved by the JSE.

SAN DIEGO — Green Star Alternative Energy, Inc. (Pink Sheets: GSAE) announced today
that the Company’s Board of Directors has set January 29, 2010 as the
Record Date for the planned stock dividend that was previously
announced. The dividend is to be paid to the Company’s stockholders of
record on the record date.

The stock dividend is equal to three additional shares of the Company’s
Common Stock for every four shares of the Company’s Common Stock
outstanding. The Company’s stockholders will need to surrender the stock
certificate they currently hold representing the existing (old) shares
to obtain the new stock certificate representing the new shares.

In announcing the stock dividend, the Company’s Board of Directors noted
that the dividend was subject to approval by the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which has now been obtained.

Green Star Alternative Energy is an environmentally conscious, renewable
energy company working to develop more than 300 MW (megawatts) of
clean electricity through wind
energy. The corporate revenue model is two-fold: the use of a
renewable resource allows not only for the creation of environmentally
friendly energy, but the granting of carbon
(greenhouse gas) emission credits which may be traded and sold.
Green Star is pursuing a significant opportunity to provide clean energy
to the growing Republic of Serbia and neighbouring European countries.
Through a joint venture with key wind
farm and power trading company Notos, Green Star will become the
nations first developer of wind power. GSAE is focused on green
technology and sustainable energy programs like wind turbines, hydro
electric power generation, and other renewable electricity models.

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Free, innovative proxy service offers complete online privacy

ZEIST, Netherlands NEW YORK — Startpage, the worlds most private search engine, and its E.U. brand,
Ixquick, today announced the release of a new proxy service that allows
users to surf the web with complete privacy. The proxy lets users browse
websites safely and anonymously, without passing on any private,
personally identifiable information to the websites they view.

The proxy offers complete anonymity, since the user never makes direct
contact with the third-party website. The users IP address is invisible
to the viewed website. In addition, the website cannot see or place
cookies on the users browser.

The proxy service is covered by the same privacy policy that has made
Startpage the industry leader when it comes to search engine privacy.
Startpage does not record IP addresses, make a record of users
searches, or record details about proxy usage. The companys data
collection practices are third-party certified and widely considered the
best in the industry.

Regenerative Cell Therapy Development Offers Immense Potential Health
Benefits

HONOLULU — Tissue Genesis, Inc., an emerging leader in advanced tissue engineering
and cell therapy solutions, and American Medical Systems Holdings, Inc.
(NASDAQ: AMMD) announced today they have signed an agreement for the
research and development of adipose (fat)–derived regenerative cells for
use in treating pelvic health disorders. American Medical Systems will
pay $1.1 million over the life of the agreement to obtain rights offered
by Tissue Genesis, Inc.

“AMS is committed to being at the forefront of innovation to improve the
lives of the millions of people worldwide who suffer from pelvic health
disorders,” said Tony Bihl, President and CEO of American Medical
Systems. “We are delighted to partner with Tissue Genesis, a leader in
the burgeoning field of regenerative cell technology, to research
therapies that may fundamentally improve patient treatment within our
markets.”

“We are proud to partner with American Medical Systems – a company with
true vision and initiative – as they recognize the immense potential
benefits of cell therapy,” said Anton Krucky, President and CEO of
Tissue Genesis. “Adipose tissue is a rich source of regenerative cells –
including adult stem cells – and these cells have shown promising
results in their ability to help patients. American Medical Systems’
world-class technology and business acumen will be a tremendous asset to
Tissue Genesis.”

Through the deal, American Medical Systems has a four year option to
obtain exclusive distribution and license rights to Tissue Genesis’
regenerative cell technology – including the Tissue Genesis Cell
Isolation System™ – for use in human pelvic health applications, with an
additional two year right of first refusal. Along with milestone
payments, Tissue Genesis will receive rights to certain data and
derivative technology developed under the agreement. Tissue Genesis, in
turn, will provide American Medical Systems with instruments,
disposables, and know-how to allow American Medical Systems to develop
state-of-the-art regenerative cell applications.

As the Met office issues flood warnings this week, motorists could be left submerged – both literally and financially.

Flooding can cause extensive damage to a vehicle, both to the bodywork and the engine. Drivers can face extremely high repair bills or worse still have their car written off. It is estimated that nearly 27% of UK drivers may not be insured if their vehicle is damaged as a result of flooding.

The North East of England has been issued with a Flood Warning with the Midlands, South West Greater London areas being issued with Flood Watch warnings.

Leading high street insurance retailer, Swinton is advising UK drivers to check their car insurance policy for flood cover as many drivers may not be covered should their vehicle be damaged.

Steve Chelton, Swintons Insurer Development Manager said: “Some drivers choose third party only or third party fire and theft policies because they are less expensive and easy to understand. However these car insurance policies might not provide cover for flood damage and it is crucial that drivers are conscious of what is and isnt included in their policy.”

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City officials in Kensington, Maryland, have barred children older than 5 from Reinhardt Park between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The move is aimed at preventing students at a nearby private school from using the park during recess.
EnergyClimate Solutions working with Babson College and Clark
University among other area schools

WALTHAM, Mass. — EnergyClimate
Solutions (ECS), a new company led by Massachusetts clean energy and
environmental leaders, has emerged to assist the state’s colleges and
universities to substantially reduce energy consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions. ECS was formed by energy efficiency and renewable energy
veterans who have developed and implemented more than $1.3 billion in
clean energy installations.

“We see colleges as being key leaders in sustainability and climate
change,” said Rob Pratt, EnergyClimate Solutions CEO and former Director
of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. “Students, faculty and
college administrations care about being good environmental stewards by
reducing their carbon footprints. ECS can help colleges and universities
implement large-scale energy and water efficiency programs that will
truly make a difference in cutting consumption, costs and emissions.”

ECS is working with Babson College in Wellesley and Clark University in
Worcester. “Babson College seeks to be the leading business school in
sustainability. We are working with Energy Climate Solutions on ways to
reduce the College’s energy consumption and carbon emissions in keeping
with our core learning values of living entrepreneurially and
sustainably,” stated Babson President Leonard Schlesinger. “ECS also has
been working with our students, faculty and staff to support Babsons
strategic goal of focusing curricular and co-curricular activities on
the triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit.”

“Clark University faculty, staff and students are very actively engaged
in initiatives to promote environmental sustainability,” said Clark
University Provost and President-Elect David Angel. “Our Climate Action
Plan sets a goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2030. We are
delighted to be working with ECS as we undertake initiatives to
accomplish this goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions for Clark.”

EnergyClimate Solutions working with Babson College and Clark
University among other area schools

WALTHAM, Mass. — EnergyClimate
Solutions (ECS), a new company led by Massachusetts clean energy and
environmental leaders, has emerged to assist the state’s colleges and
universities to substantially reduce energy consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions. ECS was formed by energy efficiency and renewable energy
veterans who have developed and implemented more than $1.3 billion in
clean energy installations.

“We see colleges as being key leaders in sustainability and climate
change,” said Rob Pratt, EnergyClimate Solutions CEO and former Director
of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. “Students, faculty and
college administrations care about being good environmental stewards by
reducing their carbon footprints. ECS can help colleges and universities
implement large-scale energy and water efficiency programs that will
truly make a difference in cutting consumption, costs and emissions.”

ECS is working with Babson College in Wellesley and Clark University in
Worcester. “Babson College seeks to be the leading business school in
sustainability. We are working with Energy Climate Solutions on ways to
reduce the College’s energy consumption and carbon emissions in keeping
with our core learning values of living entrepreneurially and
sustainably,” stated Babson President Leonard Schlesinger. “ECS also has
been working with our students, faculty and staff to support Babsons
strategic goal of focusing curricular and co-curricular activities on
the triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit.”

“Clark University faculty, staff and students are very actively engaged
in initiatives to promote environmental sustainability,” said Clark
University Provost and President-Elect David Angel. “Our Climate Action
Plan sets a goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2030. We are
delighted to be working with ECS as we undertake initiatives to
accomplish this goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions for Clark.”

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First the RACs, now wait for whats coming next Medicaid, commercial insurers starting their audits By the end of the year, its likely that every type of medical record in your hospital will be scrutinized by one auditor or another, predicts Brian Flood, managing director for KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax, and advisory firm. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfares Bureau of Program Integrity has been auditing fee-for-service Medicaid claims for the past three years, using one of the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS) contractors for the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) demonstration project, reports Charleeda Redman, RN, MSN, ACM, director of corporate case management for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an integrated health system with 20 acute care hospitals.
Nurses improve medication administration accuracy The study involved the implementation of the Integrated Nurse Leadership Program (INLP), which provides frontline nurses and other hospital staff with training, resources, and authority to devise and implement solutions. In addition to showing the importance of empowering frontline nurses, the most significant finding of the study is that “significant improvement in outcomes can be accomplished without very expensive fixes,” says Julie Kliger, MPA, BSN, RN, INLP creator and program director at the Center for the Health Professions, University of California, San Francisco; principal and founder of The Altos Group; and lead author of the article. “Thats important because there are a lot of financial and resource pressures today, and people sometimes think they need to spend millions for bar-coding; this demonstrates through almost old-fashioned QI and engaging the people who are doing the work and providing them with tools, skills, and resources, that they can make statistically significant improvement.”

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NEW YORK — Despite performance improvements late last year, loss frequency will
remain heightened for U.S. prime auto ABS in 2010 with unemployment
expected to remain in the 10% range for much of 2010, according to Fitch
Ratings.

After hitting record highs in 2009, U.S. prime auto loan ABS loss rates
posted improvements in the final months of last year. Prime annualized
net losses (ANL) were at 1.52% in December 2009, a 6% improvement
compared to November. On an annual basis, loss levels have improved 23%
against December 2008, supported by improving and stable used vehicle
values which drove recovery rates higher throughout most of 2009.
December posted the fourth consecutive year-over-year improvement in ANL.

Prime auto loan ABS exhibited solid rating performance in 2009, despite
declining asset performance and elevated loss levels. Fitch issued 33
rating upgrades in 2009 versus 36 in 2008. There were six prime
downgrades issued on just two transactions in 2009, virtually unchanged
compared to 2008. Stable ratings performance is attributed to several
features present in auto loan ABS including transaction loss proxies
being derived utilizing performance data from the weakest performing
vintages (2007 and 2008); and structural features including quick
amortization along with building credit enhancement levels.

Fitch expects both delinquency and losses to improve in the first
quarter of 2010 driven solely by seasonal patterns. Workers getting
back to work from the holidays, bonuses, and also tax refunds and
rebates all aid consumers during the first few months of the year, said
Senior Director Hylton Heard.

Fitch believes that loss severity will be less of a factor in 2010, as
the new and used vehicle markets adjusted capacity by severely cutting
production levels and thus reducing supply into the used vehicle market.
Risks that could drive loss severity higher in 2010 include weakness at
the manufacturer level, which would then affect brand values and
ultimately depress recovery rates on defaulted loans.

Loan Modification Company Responds to Rapid Rise of Homeowners
Opting to Short Sell Instead of Foreclose

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — US Home Loan Advocates, Inc. (USHLA) a leading loan modification
company, is extending their expert loss
mitigation negotiation services to real estate agents.
The number of homeowners with upside down mortgages is growing
rapidly. The credit recovery period for a short sale is two-three years
as opposed to the lengthily seven-year stay of a foreclosure. For
that reason, more homeowners are opting to short sell their properties
instead of facing foreclosure. A short sale will reflect
negatively on a homeowner’s credit report; however, compared to
foreclosure, it is the lesser of the two evils.

“As the number of homeowners forced to short sell rises, our
support will enable real estate agents to concentrate on listing and
selling more properties; thereby, increasing the number of distressed
homeowners the agents are able to help,” explains David Bartels,
president of USHLA.

The short sale process is time consuming and requires persistence
and experience. USHLA’s experienced professionals will conduct the
required financial consultation with the seller, collect the paperwork
and appropriately package all of the documentation for the lender.
Thereafter, an USHLA expert will work with the lender to quickly
and successfully negotiate the purchase price and the real estate
agent’s full commission for the short sale transaction.

“Signature Properties trusted relationship with USHLA
substantially improves my ability to efficiently manage the increase in
short sale activity. USHLA provides my customers with consistent quality
and expert service,” explains Judy Dunham of Signature
Properties in Coronado, California.

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“The scene is Capitol Hill. Its the year 2035. Thousands of elderly protesters assemble outside the Capitol building. Inside, the House Ways and Means Committee meets to enact huge cuts in both Medicare and the national health insurance program.” That is the opening of “The Medicare Monster,” a reason article from January 1993; authors Steven Hayward and Erik Peterson highlighted predictions of Medicares impending fiscal insolvency to warn against the push for government-run health care. Substitute 2017 for 2035, and you could write the scene today. Hayward and Petersons cautionary tale pointed out that Medicare costs had been dramatically underestimated from the inception of the program in 1966. Medicare cost $3 billion in 1966. A “conservative” estimate by the House Ways and Means Committee in 1966 projected that Medicare would cost $12 billion after inflation by 1990. The actual 1990 cost was nearly nine times more: $107 billion. Today Medicare costs $408 billion, consuming about 13 percent of the total federal budget. Since 1993 projections about Medicares eventual date of bankruptcy have oscillated considerably. In 1997 the Medicare Trustees projected that its hospital fund would be depleted by the middle of 2000. Fiscal collapse was avoided when the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 imposed what amounted to price controls on physicians and hospitals. As a consequence, in 2000 the Medicare Trustees sunnily projected that the program would be solvent through 2029. Nine years later, the latest Medicare Trustees report projects that the hospital fund (Part A) will be depleted by 2017. The trustees assert that bringing it into actuarial balance during the next 75 years will require either immediately raising the Medicare payroll tax from 2.9 percent to 6.78 percent or cutting current benefits by 53 percent. Medicare Part B, which pays for outpatient care and doctor bills, and the recently added Part D, which pays for prescription drugs, are “both projected to remain adequately financed into the indefinite future because current law automatically provides financing each year to meet next years expected costs.” Translation: About 75 percent of Medicare funds spent on doctors and drugs come from general tax revenue.
THE GREEN BIBLE misses an opportunity to extol Noahs embrace of mass transit over less environmentally friendly modes of disaster evacuation, but it does highlight the parts of the Good Book “that speak to Gods care for creation” in a verdant shade of soy-based ink. In Bible Illuminated: The Book, the Holy Scriptures are paired with glossy photographs of Angelina Jolie, Al Gore, and Bono, among others, and supplemented with a section inspired by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals project, titled “Eight Ways to Change the World.” Naturally, such efforts to present the Bible in progressive contexts have not gone unnoticed by more right-leaning believers. Claiming that “liberal bias has become the single biggest distortion in modern Bible translations,” Andrew Schlafly, the fourth begotten son of Phyllis, launched the Conservative Bible Project in August 2009. An online collaborative effort, the project aims to produce “a fully conservative translation of the Bible” that will avoid gender-inclusive language, favor conciseness over “liberal wordiness,” use “conservative” terms like volunteer rather than comrade, and render “the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning.” Whatever concise, narrowly gendered language Schlafly and his comrades, er, volunteers conjure to illuminate the free-market meaning of, say, the Parable of the Vineyard Consultants (Matthew 20:1-15), theyll be hard-pressed to match the pedagogic power of the story of the Bible publishing industry itself. It wasnt always this way. In the 16th century, when William Tyndale translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English, thereby unlocking the Word of God to the common man, he was rewarded for his efforts by being burned at the stake. So were most of the copies of his translation. In colonial times, it was illegal to print Bibles in North America; only certain printers in England and Scotland were authorized to publish the holy book. During the Revolution those imports stopped, creating, according to The Centennial History of the American Bible Society, a “famine of Bibles.” So in 1782 the Philadelphia printer Roger Aitken printed 10,000 copies of Americas first complete English Bible. The book came with a congressional endorsement, but when the war ended, cheap imports resumed, domestic competition exploded, and thousands of copies of the Aitken Bible failed to sell. In 1791, he wrote a letter to Pennsylvanias tax man stating that hed lost $4,000 on the venture.

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LOS ANGELES — Perry Ellis International (NASDAQ:PERY) has entered into an exclusive
license agreement with Nolan Glove Company (Nolan) to manufacture,
design and distribute women’s Laundry by Shelli Segal® year-round
accessories, including: hats, caps, earmuffs, gloves, mittens, scarves
and wraps.

Headquartered in New York City, Nolan is one of the oldest glove
companies in America. Founded in 1920, the company has a heritage of
creating fashion in an industry segment that traditionally focused on
utility. “We are very excited to partner with the Nolan Glove Company
and benefit from their ninety years of experience in year-round
accessories manufacturing,” stated Oscar Feldenkreis, President Chief
Operating Officer of parent company, Perry Ellis International. “Nolan’s
head and handwear expertise ranges from the finest leather to complex
knitting, ensuring the superior quality expected by our Laundry by
Shelli Segal customer.”

Michael P. Nolan, President of Nolan Glove Company, added, “We consider
Laundry by Shelli Segal to be the most forward fashion platform in the
contemporary market today. The driving force at Nolan has been exquisite
execution of product and we have found the same aesthetic at Laundry by
Shelli Segal. It is truly an organic partnership that will reinvigorate
our market with luxurious energy.”

Launching fall 2010 in-store, Laundry by Shelli Segal year-round
accessories will be distributed to better department stores and
specialty stores. The collection will launch to the trade at the end of
January.

About Laundry by Shelli Segal®

AN underwear thief has finally been caught – and hes a cat. Oliver the tortoiseshell also brings home shoes, scarves and even cereal boxes.

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The University of Texas at Arlington College
of Nursing has added an Academic Partnership: Bachelor of Science in
Nursing program that will substantially increase its capacity to
accommodate qualified applicants.

Working with service provider Higher Ed Holdings, the College of Nursing
has translated its highly regarded nursing curriculum into a
state-of-the-science, media-enriched, online format. This online format
addresses two aspects of the national nursing shortage: a lack of available
faculty and clinical learning space.

The first cohort of 40 students started the 15-month program Jan. 18.
Before gaining acceptance, students had to complete prerequisite courses in
the usual academic disciplines such as history, math, government and
English.

Students in the online program are supported not only by experienced
faculty members, but also by academic coaches and student success
coordinators. Clinical training for this cohort will be done at three
partner facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area: Baylor Health Care
System, Medical City-Dallas and Parkland Health Hospital System.

“Innovative approaches to enrolling and supporting students into schools of
nursing are paramount as we face a significant nursing shortage,” said Dr.
Rosemary Luquire, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Baylor
Health Care System in Dallas. “We are eager to test new strategies with our
UT Arlington College of Nursing partner to assure we meet our communities
need for health care.”

STANFORD, Calif. — Georgia Sue Huston knew she was really sick. Every time the 82-year-old
woman tried to turn over in her bed in the coronary care unit at
Stanford Hospital Clinics, she’d panic because she couldn’t get enough
air and because it hurt so much.

In an effort to ease the pain, Laura Heldebrant asked the hospital’s
palliative care team to visit her mother. “I’m an ICU nurse here at
Stanford, and I’d seen them help other patients and their families,” she
said. “But I didn’t think my mother’s situation was end-of-life.”

It turned out Huston had pulmonary fibrosis—end-stage lung disease.
She’d known for some time that she was ill, but she hadn’t been able to
get anyone to tell her what the prognosis was. The palliative care team
answered her questions. Face to face.

“My mom said, ‘I’ve been wanting to bring this up for a long time, I’ve
been wanting to talk about this, but I didn’t know what to say,”
Heldebrant recalled. “Once Judy and Dr. Bouvier talked with her, she
looked relieved. She went from, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t do this,’ to being
at peace.”

Huston told Judy Passaglia, palliative care program director, and Denis
Bouvier, MD, palliative care attending physician, that she wanted to be
out of the hospital and home with her children and grandchildren for her
83rd birthday. They made arrangements for her to have hospice care at
her daughter’s home, and Huston was discharged on Oct. 31. She died 13
days later, in her sleep.

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(Times may be earlier for DIRECTV and DISH customers. * Taped) College Notre Dame at Villanova 4 p.m. ESPN basketball Texas AM at Oklahoma State 4:30 p.m. ESPN2 Florida State at Duke 6 p.m. ESPN Tennis Australian Open 6:30 p.m. ESPN2 Australian Open 12:30 a.m. ESPN2
Question: Is there really such a thing as “male menopause”? Men dont get hot flashes, do they? — Ed, Springfield, Pa. Answer: They dont get hot flashes, but they can have problems on the other side of the dial. as in, not getting hot enough. As men age, their testosterone levels take a slow-motion nosedive, and sexual desire can fizzle. So guys, if youre losing the hair on your head and can skip a day shaving (dwindling testosterone is an overzealous hairstylist), ask your doctor about a hormone test. You may be a candidate for testosterone therapy. There are pros and cons: Testosterone therapy has been linked to prostate cancer, though that has been far from proven (otherwise, young men with raging testosterone would be felled by the thousands, and theyre not). It does cause some prostate enlargement, but not enough to cause problems, such as urinary blockage.
In the midst of one of the Arizona real estate
industrys toughest years, Talking Rock has reported
positive sales figures for 2009. The luxury golf community in Prescott,
Ariz. rounded out the year with 55 unit sales, with four of those occurring
in December alone. Homesite and home sales combined to surpass the total
number of sales in 2007 and 2008.

Talking Rock attributes its success to a number of things including a
thriving clubhouse community with active members, continued infrastructure
investments and the decision to continue its marketing operations, even as
many others have gone dark. The Prescott new homes
community has used the market slow-down to spark creative strategies
for reaching new buyers and maintaining visibility within its own community
and beyond.

“Weve felt the effects of the economic downturn, but Talking Rocks
commitment to authenticity has not faltered,” says Jim Jones, director of
sales for Talking Rock. “We provide the same member benefits, stunning
surroundings and laid-back lifestyle we always have.”

Talking Rock offers a variety of homes and homesites
in Prescott , including Ranch Cottages, ideal for a lock-and-leave
lifestyle, plus Ranch Homes, Custom Homes and custom homesites ranging from
one-half to five acres. Residents of the community can take advantage of an
ideal four-season climate and resort style amenities, including hiking and
biking trails, one of the finest private championship golf courses in
Arizona , several dining and fitness options, and planned events that
take place at Talking Rocks communal gathering area, The Ranch Compound.

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IN APRIL 2008, The Orange County Register published a bombshell of an investigation about a license plate program for California government workers and their families. Drivers of nearly I million cars and light trucks–out of a total 22 million vehicles registered statewide–were protected by a “shield” in the state records system between their license plate numbers and their home addresses. There were, the newspaper found, great practical benefits to this secrecy. “Vehicles with protected license plates can run through dozens of intersections controlled by red light cameras with impunity,” the Registers Jennifer Muir reported. “Parking citations issued to vehicles with protected plates are often dismissed because the process necessary to pierce the shield is too cumbersome. Some patrol officers let drivers with protected plates off with a warning because the plates signal that drivers are one of their own or related to someone who is.” The plate program started in 1978 with the seemingly unobjectionable purpose of protecting the personal addresses of officials who deal directly with criminals. Police argued that the bad guys could call the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), get addresses for officers, and use the information to harm them or their family members. There was no rash of such incidents, only the possibility that they could take place. So police and their families were granted confidentiality. Then the program expanded from one set of government workers to another. Eventually parole officers, retired parking enforcers, DMV desk clerks, county supervisors, social workers, and other categories of employees from 1,800 state agencies were given the special protections too. Meanwhile, the original intent of the shield had become obsolete: The DMV long ago abandoned the practice of giving out personal information about any driver. What was left was not a protection but a perk. Yes, rank has its privileges, and its clear that government workers have a rank above the rest of us. Ordinarily, if one out of every 22 California drivers had a license to drive any way he chose, there would be demands for more police power to protect Californians from the potential carnage. But until the newspaper series, law enforcement officials and legislators had remained mum. The reason, of course, is that the scofflaws are law enforcement officials and legislators.
IN APRIL 2008, The Orange County Register published a bombshell of an investigation about a license plate program for California government workers and their families. Drivers of nearly I million cars and light trucks–out of a total 22 million vehicles registered statewide–were protected by a “shield” in the state records system between their license plate numbers and their home addresses. There were, the newspaper found, great practical benefits to this secrecy. “Vehicles with protected license plates can run through dozens of intersections controlled by red light cameras with impunity,” the Registers Jennifer Muir reported. “Parking citations issued to vehicles with protected plates are often dismissed because the process necessary to pierce the shield is too cumbersome. Some patrol officers let drivers with protected plates off with a warning because the plates signal that drivers are one of their own or related to someone who is.” The plate program started in 1978 with the seemingly unobjectionable purpose of protecting the personal addresses of officials who deal directly with criminals. Police argued that the bad guys could call the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), get addresses for officers, and use the information to harm them or their family members. There was no rash of such incidents, only the possibility that they could take place. So police and their families were granted confidentiality. Then the program expanded from one set of government workers to another. Eventually parole officers, retired parking enforcers, DMV desk clerks, county supervisors, social workers, and other categories of employees from 1,800 state agencies were given the special protections too. Meanwhile, the original intent of the shield had become obsolete: The DMV long ago abandoned the practice of giving out personal information about any driver. What was left was not a protection but a perk. Yes, rank has its privileges, and its clear that government workers have a rank above the rest of us. Ordinarily, if one out of every 22 California drivers had a license to drive any way he chose, there would be demands for more police power to protect Californians from the potential carnage. But until the newspaper series, law enforcement officials and legislators had remained mum. The reason, of course, is that the scofflaws are law enforcement officials and legislators.

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MG IN Ireland has introduced a new model and revised its pricing for 2010. The MG TF 135, so called because of its 135bhp output, is being reintroduced at a very reasonable EUR22,995 while the limited edition MG TF LE500, which also uses the 135bhp 1.8-litre K-series engine, is EUR25,995.
After a court in Montana ruled that the state constitution protected assisted suicide, the state supreme court considered the question. It ducked the constitutional issue by ruling that the legislature had never banned assisted suicide in the first place: Unbeknownst to everyone, it was already legal.

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Isha Wins $100,000 in Chase Community Giving/Facebook Competition
to Help Build a School for Rural Children in Southern India and Medical
Facility in Tennessee

MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. — On Thursday night, people from all over Southern India rallied to bring
out the vote for Isha Foundation’s race to win the Chase Community
Giving charity contest hosted on line by Facebook. The Isha Foundation,
an international non-profit humanitarian social organization with U.S.
headquarters in middle-Tennessee and international headquarters in Tamil
Nadu, India worked tirelessly to win the coveted $1mm first place prize.
Ishas expected winnings were earmarked to build a school in rural India
and a health care clinic in Tennessee. Placing second by a mere 1200
votes has won them $100,000 towards their objective. “Even though we are
disappointed to lose the $1 million which would have made a huge
difference for thousands of disadvantaged children in India and patients
in Tennessee,” Isha Foundation President, Dr. Kalpana Rajdev began, “we
are excited to win $100,000 which will still help us do so much.”

While the U.S. offices worked round the clock, volunteers in India,
mobilized tens of thousands of supporters to vote at computer stations
in more than 60 schools and universities. Homemakers, laborers,
villagers and students came together to vote to support Isha
constructing a new school for the rural children in their area. Even
through the night, voting kiosks were opened in remote areas where
people, who never had the opportunity to use a computer, were able to
vote online to break their cycle of poverty for the next generation. The
proposed school construction project, part of Isha’s “Big Idea” grant
submitted to Chase at the outset of the competition, would be the
seventh school in Isha’s budding, Isha Vidhya rural education program.

Mobilizing the masses for social and environmental causes is nothing new
to Isha. Established in India over 25 years ago, the Foundation is well
known and respected for its compassion and care of the Southern Indian
people and stewardship of the local environment. Isha has won the hearts
of the people through good work, which has created a deeply loyal
following. For example, in 2006, more than 250,000 people came together
to participate in the organization’s Project GreenHands tree planting
marathon. In just 3 days, 856,000 trees were planted which is noted in
the Guinness Book of World Records. Not stopping there, to
date Project GreenHands, a vibrant part of India’s reforestation, has
planted over 7.5 mm trees.

Through Isha Care, free health care has been provided to over 1.5
million rural patients in India and the U.S. Under the Action for Rural
Rejuvenation program they have adopted 4 tsunami torn villages and
established economic recovery programs through developing native crafts
and more. In addition, Isha Vidhya brings quality computer-based,
English-speaking education to the under served rural children.

TWO masked men held up a family at gunpoint before making off with their car and some cash. One of the attackers fired what is believed to have been a handgun or a starting pistol during the raid at Killeen School Road, in Newry, Co Down.
ADORATION 15, 101 mins Opens Friday, January 29 A Canadian high school French teacher (Khanjian) asks students to translate a news story about a terrorist.

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LONDON VICTORIA PREMIER INN Where and why: Checking into a newly-opened hotel is like slipping between crisp, fresh sheets. And this spanking new hotel on Londons Ecclestone Square is definitely a cut above most budget hotels. Rooms are of a contemporary design with desks, good lighting, flat-screen tellies and very comfy beds. Staff go out of their way to help and to talk novices through the self check-in desks. On the menu: Premiers breakfasts put many more expensive hotels to shame. Everybody gets what the want whether they are in the fry- up brigade or prefer granola, pomegranate juice and green tea at the all-youcan-eat buffet for pounds 7.50. For families, two kids eat free with each paying adult.
Nurses improve medication administration accuracy The study involved the implementation of the Integrated Nurse Leadership Program (INLP), which provides frontline nurses and other hospital staff with training, resources, and authority to devise and implement solutions. In addition to showing the importance of empowering frontline nurses, the most significant finding of the study is that “significant improvement in outcomes can be accomplished without very expensive fixes,” says Julie Kliger, MPA, BSN, RN, INLP creator and program director at the Center for the Health Professions, University of California, San Francisco; principal and founder of The Altos Group; and lead author of the article. “Thats important because there are a lot of financial and resource pressures today, and people sometimes think they need to spend millions for bar-coding; this demonstrates through almost old-fashioned QI and engaging the people who are doing the work and providing them with tools, skills, and resources, that they can make statistically significant improvement.”

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CHICAGO — Fitch Ratings assigns an AAA rating to the following Missouri State
Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authoritys (EIERA) state
revolving funds (SRF) program bonds:

–$219.07 million water pollution control and drinking water refunding
revenue bonds , series 2010A.

The bonds are expected to sell via negotiation during the week of Jan.
25, 2010.

In addition, Fitch affirms its AAA rating on the following bonds:

–$889 million water pollution control and drinking water revenue bonds;

Success of Starbucks Premium Ready-to-Drink Coffee Products in the
U.S. and Asia Demonstrates Strong Business Opportunity for Europe

SEATTLE — Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX) announced today that it will enter
the ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee category in Europe, an approximately
US$550 million (EUR368 million) market. Starbucks also announced today
that it has signed an agreement with Arla Foods for the manufacture,
distribution and marketing of Starbucks-branded premium RTD coffee
beverages in Europe. This new relationship complements Starbucks coffee
expertise and experience in the ready-to-drink coffee category.

Extending the Starbucks brand into new distribution channels globally is
part of Starbucks long-term plans to target international growth in key
regions such as Europe. “Starbucks Global Consumer Products business
allows us to extend the Starbucks Experience to consumers beyond
our retail stores while broadening our distribution channels globally,”
said Rich DePencier, vice president, Starbucks Global Consumer Products
International. “The success we have had bringing ready-to-drink coffee
products to consumers in North America and Asia demonstrates the global
potential of the business and we are proud to join with Arla Foods to
bring our premium RTD beverages to consumers in Europe.”

Arla Foods is a leading producer and distributor of quality milk
products in Europe and has more than 100 years experience of providing
consumers with inspirational products that create well-being. Arla is
one of the largest dairy companies in the world, with particularly
strong markets in Northern Europe. Arla Foods will manufacture,
distribute and market Starbucks premium milk-based ready-to-drink coffee
beverages that are made with the same high quality arabica coffee
blends that are used in the handcrafted coffee beverages available at
Starbucks retail stores around the world.

The UK drinks market is forecast to be worth £58.3bn in 2009, accounting
for approximately 6% of total consumer spending. Alcohol is forecast to
account for just under three-quarters of the market in 2009, with soft
drinks worth £12.98bn and hot drinks £3.4bn.

Beer is the leading alcoholic drink although its share of the total
spent on alcohol is down from 50% to 42.9% in this decade. Wine is still
the fastest growing major alcohol category. A consumer survey for UK
Drinks found that adults named white, red and rosé wines among their
five favourite alcoholic drinks, along with lager and vodka.

Spirits (and liqueurs) are stable in value while cider has been the fast
riser of the decade, doubling from £1.2bn to £2.4bn. This is principally
down to the fashion for over-ice cider, spearheaded by the imported
Irish brand, Magners. The rise of Magners typifies the
fashion-influenced aspect of the UK market where young drinkers are
adventurous, although many other drinks sectors are noted for their
conservative nature (e.g. some spirits, such as Cognac, or fortified
wines, such as sherry and port).

Another unusual aspect of the over-ice boom is that it was started by a
new brand, whereas most drinks markets feature one or two extremely
dominant brands. Some of these — Smirnoff in vodka, Coca-Cola in
carbonated soft drinks, Red Bull in energy drinks, Nescafé in instant
coffee — are powerful enough to influence the direction of the whole
market sector.

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BELLEVUE, Wash. — Symetra Financial Corporation (the “Company” or “Symetra”)
announced today the pricing of its initial public offering of its common
stock at $12.00 per share. The offering will consist of 20,699,510
primary shares to be sold by the Company, and 9,700,490 secondary shares
to be sold by existing stockholders. Affiliates of White Mountains
Insurance Group, Ltd. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., who led the investor
group that formed Symetra in 2004, are not selling any shares in the
offering.

Symetra common stock will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange
on Jan. 22, 2010 under the ticker symbol “SYA.” The offering is expected
to close on or about Jan. 27, 2010.

The Company intends to use the net primary proceeds from the offering
for general corporate purposes, which may include contributions of
capital to its insurance and other subsidiaries. Symetra will not
receive any proceeds from the sale of secondary shares by existing
stockholders.

BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, Goldman, Sachs Co., and Barclays
Capital are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. The
underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional
4,560,000 shares of common stock from the Company at the public offering
price, less the underwriting discount, to cover over-allotments, if any.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Ameritas Group, a division of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., a UNIFI
Company, earned its third consecutive Center of Excellence call center
certification from BenchmarkPortal. Developed by Purdue University’s
Center for Customer-Driven Quality, BenchmarkPortal is the largest call
center benchmarking database program in the world.

“Exceeding customer expectations is always our goal. In each
interaction, we have the opportunity to make a positive impact and
enhance our customers’ service experience,” notes April Rimpley, M.A.M.,
FLMI, ACS, vice president – group customer connections and operations.
“We are proud to be recognized by such a prestigious organization, and
the fact that we’ve achieved certification for three years running truly
reflects our commitment. We believe the Center of Excellence
certification speaks volumes about our company because it goes beyond
the insurance industry and verifies that our contact center is world
class.”

To achieve annual certification as a Center of Excellence, Ameritas
Group contact center associates participate in BenchmarkPortal’s
rigorous certification process based on established scientific methods
that measure operational metrics, customer satisfaction and agent
satisfaction. In addition, contact center associates must meet Ameritas
Group’s own set of stringent service standards by participating in
ongoing training and continuing education.

“We benchmark the performance of thousands of customer service call
centers across North America. Many call centers apply for certification,
yet only 10 percent actually make it,” adds Dr. Jon Anton, founder and
director of benchmark research at Purdue’s Center for Customer-Driven
Quality. “Our Center of Excellence recognition is one of the most
distinguished awards in the service and support industry, and Ameritas
has earned it.”

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WHO has the best job in the world? When I was a boy, I had no doubt that it was Charles Kuralt, a balding, paunchy correspondent for CBS News who spent his days roaming around America in a battered white motor home, stopping along the way to file feature stories about plain-spoken, good-hearted men and women who carved merry-go-round horses by hand, made bricks out of mud, and led untroubled lives in towns even smaller than the one in which I grew up. Anyone who remembers The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite remembers Kuralts “On the Road” segments, which ran every week or so from 1967 to 1980, and some of those memories are likely to be surprisingly sharp. Does Jethro Manns name ring any bells? Hes the fellow who loaned bicycles to the children of a village in North Carolina–for free. I saw him on The CBS Evening News half a lifetime ago, and I bet I could still pick him out of a lineup. If you remember the Bicycle Man, you can get to know him again by ordering a copy of On the Road with Charles Kuralt, Set 1, a newly released three-DVD box set from Acorn Media that contains 76 “On the Road” stories, including some of the most celebrated ones. Kuralts tribute to the men who built the Golden Gate Bridge is here. So is his Thanksgiving visit to a pair of Mississippi sharecroppers who put all nine of their children through college. So are a fair number of the other pieces that kept me tuning in to The CBS Evening News long after I parted political ways with its avuncular anchorman. Some are frankly sentimental, others light and charming. Virtually all of them remain watchable to this day. Not only did Kuralt have an uncanny ability to sniff out heartwarming stories, but he was smart enough to keep the focus on his interviewees rather than himself. He was a stalwart and lifelong advocate of what he called “the tricycle principle,” which he formulated after watching a local TV newsman cover a childrens tricycle race. At the end of the story, the camera cut to the reporter, who was riding a tricycle. Kuralt winced at that kind of self-aggrandizement. “Keep yourself out of the story,” he said. “The people who are watching it are not interested in you.” Instead of riding tricycles, Kuralt put his stamp on his “On the Road” pieces by coming up with exactly the right words to sum up the people he portrayed. This is how he ended his story about Alex and Mary Chandler, the sharecroppers who picked cotton and pulled corn in order to give their children more abundant lives: “There probably are no lessons in any of this. But I know that in the future, whenever I hear that the family is a dying institution, Ill think of them. Whenever I hear anything in America is impossible, Ill think of them.” That kind of writing was what made Kuralts portraits inimitable. “I could have shot them on toilet paper,” said Isadore Bleckman, his longtime cameraman, “and he would have given them truth.”
If you’re like most Americans, April 15 is not your favorite day of the
year. The day the tax forms are due. With all of the economic upheaval,
filing this year may be trickier than others, which weren’t all that
easy in the first place. If you are a first –time buyer refinanced your
home or had your mortgage modified, though, the extra complexity could
work in your favor.

Ryan Boyajian is President of We Save Homes, Inc., a software company
whose eTurboMod package makes applying for a loan modification as easy
as filing your taxes with any of the programs that have become so
popular lately. He offers some advice for homeowners who want to take
advantage of the many changes to the tax code that were recently passed.

“First off,” he says. “get an expert opinion if you are unclear about
whether you can take certain deductions or claim various credits. That
doesn’t mean you need a lawyer or accountant. The IRS will let you know
your status. The key is to call them now because it April, you’ll
probably get a busy signal.

“Second, to get most of these deductions and credits, you’ll have to
itemize your deductions by filling in Schedule A. That’s extra
paperwork, but we’re talking about saving thousands of dollars. And
there are plenty of other deductions that you can claim beside
mortgage-related items that make this worthwhile.

“Third, pay special attention to recent innovations. For example as of
2007, cancelled or forgiven mortgage debt doesn’t count as income that
you have to report. So, it you had more mortgage modified in 2009, the
amount forgiven won’t count against you. Your lender will have to send
you a 1099-C form. If you don’t get one soon, call and ask for it. In
most cases, this applies to refinancing situations. And if you paid
points for a refi, that’s deductible as well.

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OAKLAND — Breaking into the citys middle and high schools, defacing district property or even cutting class will be harder to pull off under the watch of a new, high-powered security system that will cover about 30 middle and high schools, Oakland school district staff members say. Though many Oakland schools already use security cameras, the district plans to install at least 750 new ones by August 2011. The footage from all of the schools will be linked so Oakland police and authorized school district staff members can view it online, zooming in and out as needed. The cost of the new system is about $3 million; about half that will be covered by a matching “Secure our Schools” grant from the Department of Justice to the city of Oakland, said Michael Moore Sr., the school districts director of procurement. Moore said the districts $1.5 million contribution — allocated from the districts modernization fund — already had been budgeted for security upgrades.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The stone faces of four former United States Presidents stare out from Mount Rushmore. Elizabeth Lee is planning a trip to this world-famous monument in South Dakotas Black Hills. Most visitors shoot Mount Rushmore with cameras. But Lee and her co-workers will shoot it with laser beams. Their goal is to create a three-dimensional model of the site, using computers. Lee is a project director at CyArk, an organization that makes digital models of the worlds monuments. These sites, like Egypts pyramids and Indias Taj Mahal, have a special place in history and culture. Over time, weather, tourists, and natural disasters can wear down or destroy these treasures. Thats why experts like Lee want to create digital models of the worlds monuments before they are beyond repair. This way, damage to the sites can be monitored over time and repairs can be planned accurately. Whats a monuments number one enemy? Everyday weather. “Water is really the chief cause [of ruin],” says John Stubbs, who works at the World Monuments Fund in New York. It can strike as rain, floods, or even humidity.

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First the RACs, now wait for whats coming next Medicaid, commercial insurers starting their audits By the end of the year, its likely that every type of medical record in your hospital will be scrutinized by one auditor or another, predicts Brian Flood, managing director for KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax, and advisory firm. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfares Bureau of Program Integrity has been auditing fee-for-service Medicaid claims for the past three years, using one of the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS) contractors for the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) demonstration project, reports Charleeda Redman, RN, MSN, ACM, director of corporate case management for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an integrated health system with 20 acute care hospitals.
NEW YORK — Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (“Clearlake” or “CCG”) announced today the
closing of its second private equity fund, Clearlake Capital Partners
II, L.P. (“CCP II” or the “Fund”), with more than $410 million in equity
commitments. CCP II was oversubscribed and exceeded its cap.

The Fund invests in special situations, which includes companies
undergoing complex financial, operational or structural change.
Investors included some of the nation’s largest institutional investors
including public and corporate pension funds, financial institutions,
insurance companies, endowments and foundations, fund-of-funds and
family offices. Clearlake continues to manage and invest Clearlake
Capital Partners I, L.P.

Clearlake, founded in 2006 by Steven C. Chang, Behdad Eghbali, and José
E. Feliciano in partnership with Reservoir Capital Group, L.L.C., seeks
to uncover and capitalize on overlooked opportunities in key sectors
such as business services, communications, consumer, healthcare,
industrials, and technology. Clearlake partners with portfolio companies
in executing business transformations as a financial and strategic
sponsor.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton Garrison LLP served as legal counsel in
the formation of the Fund.

First the RACs, now wait for whats coming next Medicaid, commercial insurers starting their audits By the end of the year, its likely that every type of medical record in your hospital will be scrutinized by one auditor or another, predicts Brian Flood, managing director for KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax, and advisory firm. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfares Bureau of Program Integrity has been auditing fee-for-service Medicaid claims for the past three years, using one of the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS) contractors for the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) demonstration project, reports Charleeda Redman, RN, MSN, ACM, director of corporate case management for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an integrated health system with 20 acute care hospitals.

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NEW YORK — Attorney Advertising. Notice is hereby given that a class action has
been commenced on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise
acquired shares in the Direxion Energy Bear 3X Shares Fund (the “ERY
Fund”) (NYSE: ERY), an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) offered by Direxion
Shares ETF Trust (“Direxion”), pursuant or traceable to Direxion’s false
and misleading Registration Statement, Prospectuses, and Statements of
Additional Information (collectively, the “Registration Statement”)
issued in connection with shares of the ERY Fund (the “Class”). The
Class is seeking to pursue remedies under Sections 11 and 15 of the
Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”).

In addition to the claims concerning the Direxion ERY Fund, Stull, Stull
Brody is also investigating claims on behalf of investors in other
Direxion leveraged funds (the “Funds”) (see list below), such as whether
Direxion failed to disclose in its registration statements: (i) that if
shares of the Funds were held for a time period longer than one day, the
likelihood of massive losses was huge; and (ii) the extent to which
performance of the Funds would invariably diverge from the performance
of the benchmark.

The ERY Fund seeks investment results that correspond to three times
(300%) the inverse (or opposite) of the daily performance of the Russell
1000 Energy Index (the “Russell 1000”). Russell 1000 fell approximately
11% from November 5, 2008 through April 9, 2009. However, instead of
increasing 33% over the same time period, the ERY Fund fell
approximately 54%.

The Complaint alleges that given the spectacular tracking error between
the performance of the ERY Fund and its benchmark index, investors in
the ERY Fund have been shocked to learn that their supposedly correct
play on the energy sector has caused them substantial losses. The fact
that Plaintiff and the Class sought to protect their assets by investing
their monies on the correct directional play has been rendered
meaningless. The ERY Fund is, therefore, the equivalent of a defective
product. The ERY Fund did not do what it was designed to do, represented
to do, or advertised to do.

STOCKHOLM — Regulatory News:

Diamyd Medical (STO:DIAMB) (Pink Sheets:DMYDY) announces today that the
company executes a 2:1 division of shares (i.e. a split), meaning that
each share is divided into two shares of the same class.

At Diamyd�s Annual General Meeting on December 11, 2009, it was decided
to perform a division of shares in the ratio 2:1. Authorized by the
Annual General Meeting, the Board has determined the dates for the
execution of the division as follows.

Record day for the division is Thursday January 28, 2010. The last day
of trading in the Diamyd share before the division is Monday January 25,
2010. The first day of trading with divided shares is Tuesday January 26.

The division of shares is done automatically through Euroclear and
shareholders do not need to take any measures. As a result of the
division, the number of shares will double but the share capital will
remain unchanged. After the division there will be 28,660,988 shares,
consisting of 1,437,876 Series A shares and 27,223,112 Series B shares.

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EMERYVILLE, Calif. — Ravenflow, the leader in Visual Requirements Definition™, today
announced that one of the world’s largest Fortune 1000 property
insurance companies has selected RAVEN for visual requirements
definition.

“Like many companies that we see, our new client lacked standard
procedures for documenting requirements,” said Susan Boers, president
and CEO of Ravenflow. “They had little discipline for consistency across
their business analysts, and many specifications were missing key
business requirements.”

“RAVEN addressed the clients challenges directly. This client executed
a proof of concept to ensure that RAVEN would fit in their complex
application development environment. RAVEN was the unanimous choice of
all of the departments: business analysts, developers, QA, and business
stakeholders.”

Using RAVEN, consultants and other team members rapidly visualize and
validate requirements, build team consensus, and produce clear
specifications of their business process workflows, business use cases,
and business application needs. Based upon patented language processing
technology, RAVEN allows business people to describe their needs in
plain English, then automatically identifies missing requirements while
generating visual process and use case diagrams that all stakeholders
can understand. With its distinctive business orientation and
process-based approach to requirements definition, RAVEN is uniquely
suited for use on both enterprise process improvement and application
development projects.

AUSTIN, Texas — Baylor University has named Dr. Edward Burger the 2010 recipient of the
Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. The award includes a
$200,000 award, plus $25,000 for his home department at Williams College
in Massachusetts, where Dr. Burger is the Distinguished Professor of
Mathematics and Gaudino Scholar. Dr. Burger will teach in residence at
Baylor during fall 2010.

Thinkwell’s CEO Carl Tyson said, “The Cherry Award stands alone as the
premier vehicle of national recognition for teaching excellence, and is
the richest award of its type. It is truly fitting that Ed Burger has
been chosen for this honor as he exemplifies the spirit of the award in
so many creative ways. Ed simply is a force of nature, with a love for
his discipline and a tremendous gift to communicate and share the beauty
of mathematics. Countless students, colleagues, and audiences have
benefited from his hard work, insight, and enthusiasm.”

Dr. Burger earned his Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin, having
graduated summa cum laude with distinction in mathematics from
Connecticut College. Prof. Burger has won many other awards, including
the 2001 Haimo Award for Distinguished Teaching of Mathematics, the 2004
Chauvenet Prize, and the 2006 Lester R. Ford Award, all from the
Mathematical Association of America.

Dr. Burger began working with Thinkwell more than ten years ago when he
authored Thinkwell’s first math course, Calculus. His work with
Thinkwell was groundbreaking, based on the idea that modern multimedia
could be an effective means to teach college students math. The
collaboration led to five more math courses with Thinkwell, from Prealgebra
to Calculus II. The courses replace traditional textbooks for
thousands of students in colleges and universities across the nation.

“Communicating mathematical concepts in an engaging way via video was
our challenge,” said Amy Bryant, co-founder of Thinkwell. “The idea of
capturing the talents of a great teacher like Dr. Burger and then
sharing that talent to all students is as exciting today as it was 10
years ago.” Student response has been overwhelming. Every day, new
students discover a fresh way to learn math through Thinkwell courses
and places like YouTube, where Dr. Burger’s video “Calculus in 20
Minutes” has more than 400,000 views.

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BOSTON — Liberty Mutual Group is expanding its program offerings for Wisconsin
schools available through its partnership with the Wisconsin Association
of School Boards (“WASB”) Insurance Plan.

Effective immediately, Pewaukee-based Indiana Insurance™, a member of
Liberty Mutual Group, joins Liberty Mutual’s commercial Middle Market
operation to provide coverage for the WASB Insurance Plan through a
distribution force of Liberty Mutual appointed agents and brokers.

“The addition of our highly regarded school program to the WASB
Insurance Plan is an honor and a natural fit,” said David L. Lancaster,
president and chief executive officer, Indiana Insurance. “We share
WASB’s strong desire to provide their districts with the means for
creating safer learning environments.”

According to Debbie Michel, executive vice president of the central
division of Liberty Mutual’s Middle Market operation, “Working jointly
with Indiana Insurance offers us even greater opportunities for meeting
our school clients’ full needs, regardless of enrollment size or
location.”

Tim Sivertson, Chair, WASB Insurance Plan noted that “The collective
underwriting experience of Liberty Mutual means our member school
districts and affiliated Cooperative Educational Service Agencies now
have access to a wide and highly-specialized array of coverages and
services and cost-effective solutions tailored to their individual
districts’ needs.”

NEW YORK — Various macro U.S. housing and related statistics are moving off of
record bottoms in fits and starts, according to Fitch Ratings, which
will be hosting a conference call this morning at 11 a.m. ET.

The homebuilding sector remains mired in a myriad of challenges in the
coming year, but the recovery has already begun, according to Managing
Director and lead Homebuilding Analyst Robert Curran, who will be the
call leader. Curran will provide insights about the outlook for the
balance of 2009 which has yet to be reported and 2010, as well as give a
sector recap for third quarter-2009. Director Robert Rulla will also be
on hand for the Q A session, which will immediately follow the
prepared remarks.

Following are details of the teleconference:

Community bank finds technology and partner to fit its needs

CEDAR PARK, Texas — Integrated
Bank Technology (IBT), a company that specializes in providing core
processing and imaging software applications for in-house and ASP
environments for financial institutions and provides 24/7 support
services, announced that Georgia-based The Commercial Bank has selected
its flagship product, Integrated
Bank Environment (IBE), and the entire product suite of solutions.
Commercial Bank decided to expand its relationship with IBT and take
advantage of the true integration of its platform. The bank expects to
improve the business process, increase the availability to real-time
information and provide substantially better service to its customers.

“After our systems were acquired by IBT, we decided to work with the
company under the existing contract and over the course of several
months we recognized the staff’s professionalism and superior knowledge
of core systems,” Larry Townsend, chief operating officer of Commercial
Bank, explained. “As a result, we decided to remain a customer and
replace all of our existing systems with IBT’s totally integrated
solutions. We have the confidence that IBT will be able to meet all of
our needs.”

IBE is a repository for not only a financial institution’s core system,
but also all of the ancillary systems, supporting all delivery channels
and enabling everything to be tracked and managed from a single system.
Commercial Bank employees will no longer log on to different systems
multiple times to manage customer relationships, documents and check
images. Everything will be located in one place with one easy-to-use
interface. The bank will deploy the entire IBE solutions platform,
including document imaging, integrated image teller and fraud monitoring.

“Prior to working with IBT, we had five different systems running within
the bank and none of them communicated with each other,” Townsend added.
“With IBE we can work within a consolidated environment that gives us
one place to manage all of the information with ease and convenience. It
makes the management and utilization of information much easier, so
we’re very excited about the platform. Based on our research, IBE goes
far and beyond what most technology vendors can offer.”

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NEW YORK — On the heels of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Cat Schwartz
shares a look at some of the newest tech trends and gadgets that will be
emerging in 2010.

Some highlights and reveals from the show include:

The next generation of Samsung’s award-winning LED back-lit TVs,
featuring a first of its kind built-in 3D processor, connected
interactive experiences and innovative, trend-setting designs with a
wide range of options to match the décor of almost any living room. With
built-in Ethernet connection and wireless-ready capabilities, the
upgraded Internet@TV feature now includes Samsung Apps, providing
consumers with an expanded, easy to navigate selection of content and
applications from leading services like The Associated Press,
Blockbuster, Netflix, Pandora and Twitter.

NEW YORK — On the heels of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Cat Schwartz
shares a look at some of the newest tech trends and gadgets that will be
emerging in 2010.

Some highlights and reveals from the show include:

The next generation of Samsung’s award-winning LED back-lit TVs,
featuring a first of its kind built-in 3D processor, connected
interactive experiences and innovative, trend-setting designs with a
wide range of options to match the décor of almost any living room. With
built-in Ethernet connection and wireless-ready capabilities, the
upgraded Internet@TV feature now includes Samsung Apps, providing
consumers with an expanded, easy to navigate selection of content and
applications from leading services like The Associated Press,
Blockbuster, Netflix, Pandora and Twitter.

BLAME it all on reader Margaret Halford from Germany. She sent me a load of Yorkshire jokes and, yes, some of them may be old, but they are classics. Did you hear about theYorkshireman who went to the vet? “Ayup, lad, I need to talk to thee about me cat.” The vet said: “Is it a tom?” “Nay lad. Ive browt it wi me.” Then there was the Huddersfield couple playing I Spy in the kitchen. “I spy with my little eye something beginning with T,” said the husband.

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