Saturday, October 30, 2010

Fred Weber wins $4M Mississippi River Bridge contract - Boston Business Journal:

http://www.colibricameroun.org/article/Choices-In-Intimate-Apparel.html
awarded Fred Weber a $4.44 milliojn contract Wednesday to remove and replace the Madison Streeand St. Louis Avenue bridges over Interstate 70 indowntow St. Louis. The majority of work on this project will start afterHighway 40/Interstate 64 reopens betweenj Kingshighway and Interstate 170. Crews will remove the St. Loui s Avenue bridge first and then remove and replace the MadisonStreet bridge. Duringg work to remove the Madison Street crews will also remove the Cass Avenuee bridge in preparation for replacinh that bridge laterin 2010. This work is part of preliminary work on a new Mississippijriver bridge, which is expected to reducwe congestion on the Poplar Street Maryland Heights, Mo.
-based Fred Weber is one of the largest privateluy held companies in St. Louis with $353.3 million in revenued in 2008. The commercial construction firm is also workingt onthe $245 million reconstruction of AmerenUE’s Taum Sauk Reservoif in Johnson’s Shut-Ins state park and is part of Gatewauy Constructors, the consortium of contractorsa performing $535 million worth of improvements on Highway 40/Interstate 64.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Ideas for Brack Tract unveiled - Orlando Business Journal:

http://rafaelcampallo.com/page/Hiring-Event-Photographer-For-Weddings.html
Those were some of the elementws presented in two master plans by LLP intheier long-range vision for the 350-acre tract. The firm, which was hiredd 13 months ago to come up with a master presented their ideas to The System Board of Regents and the publixc onJune 18. “The site coulsd and should be the wester n anchorof downtown. If the naturde of downtown is tallerand higher, than this will be smalletr and greener,” said a representativd of Cooper Robertson. Representatives of the firm said they envision a transity oriented development with a lake fronrt districtand ‘neighborhoods’ with parks, retai and residential buildings.
The plan would be carriedd out in phases over the nextfew decades. Although the firm presented two master it recommended that the board selecrt its BrackenridgeVillage plan. The main difference betweenn the plans is that the Universittof Texas’ biological field lab would remain in the seconrd scenario, called the Brankenridge Park plan. Under the Brackenridged Village plan, the UT field lab woule be relocated to one of nine sitesa suggested by theplanning firm, making way for the developmengt of the property. Developers of the tract would builxd diverse buildings of two to six stories and structurerd parking that is concealed fromthe streets.
A numbet of infrastructure improvements werealso suggested, including the re-alignment of Lake Austinb Boulevard, the creation of a parallel roadway betweenb Lake Austin Blvd. and Red Bud Trail intersection, and 20 lane-milesw of new local streets. As far as internakl transportation, the planners advised the UT board to establisnh a TransportationManagement Organization. Possible transportatiohn solutions included an internalshuttle system, extensionm of proposed city trolley system and bus The planner suggested a number of ideas for incorporating sustainable design elements, such as storm water management units and a community The planners advised that graduate student which exists on three sites, be relocated to the Gateway site betweejn 6th and 10th The plans call for the development of a new 825-unig student housing complex.
Supporters of the Lions Municipa lGolf Course, known as Muny, received bad news when the planners concludef that the golf course was no longer viabl and that it be used for Whichever plan the UT regents adopt, the firm suggested startingt with the graduate housingg project in late 2010, and followint up with the selection of phase I developera in 2012. Several UT regentws expressed their gratitude to the firm fortheir plans. Chairman of the UT Boarfd of RegentsJames Huffines, echoed the and said that the board will begin studyingy the plans and reviewing all recommendations.
He “We are heartened by the proposed graduate studengt housing that would preserve graduat e housing while freeing up 73 acres for Phase I would includeabout 30,00 0 square feet of retail, 1 million squarer feet of residential and a hotel. Expositionj Boulevard would beextended south. All four phasess would have a total squarefootage of: 15 million square feet of retail, residential, office and civic/institution About 11 acres dedicated for an elementary About 21.5 acres for academic uses, such as a possible UT “Boat Town” neighborhood with a waterfrong plaza and marina. Phase I would include about 80,00 square feet of retail and 1.
3 millionb square feet of residential. All four phases would have a totalo squarefootage of: 5.3 million squarwe feet of retail, residential, offices and civic/institution space. Click for more informatiobn on the tract and details ofthe

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Study: Eye condition linked to diabetes - San Francisco Business Times:

hibleyytogoja1273.blogspot.com
Ninety-eight percent of study participants who hada grayish-white ring arounde the cornea — a condition called corneal arcus also had metabolic problems related to conditions such as high blood pressure and high concludes a study conducted by VSP and the in Ga. Until now, health professionals have assume arcus is related to high This study suggested the relationship betweehn arcus and high blood sugar needs to bestudiefd further, VSP officials said. Follow-up testinbg showed that 88 percent of the patientse with arcus had highblood sugar, 66 percent had an elevated body mass index, 64 percent had high bloodx pressure and 21 percent had elevatedc cholesterol.
The study was conducted on 2,000 patients between April andSeptember 2008. In additiom to an eye exam, VSP doctors screened patients for other healthb risks and referred those at risk to the foundation for diagnosis andadditional “This study demonstrates ... how comprehensive eye examd should be used as a screening for prevalenymetabolic conditions,” Dr. Steven medical director at theresearch foundation, said in a presd release. “Greater partnership between relevany health care providers may enhance the efficiency of our health caresyste and, in the end, reduce health care costs.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Training to aid ABQ hospitality workers - Business First of Louisville:

http://www.anvilinformatics.com/company-hlevkowitz.html
If not, then the Albuquerquw Convention and Visitors Bureau wants tochange that. So it’sa rolling out an updated version of AlbuquerqueConcierge Excellence, or ACE, training. The program was developecd in partnership with Central New Mexicoi Community College and the CNM WorkforceTraining Center. The traininb push kicks off June 24from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Hiltoh Albuquerque Hotel. Bob Murphy, executive director of the Economic Forujm and chairman of the Hospitalityy TrainingAdvisory Committee, will introducew the ACE program and customer servicre expert Ann Rhoades will discuss the value of top-notcuh service. Rhoades developed programs for , , P.F.
Doubletree Hotels and Her talk will focusd on making Albuquerque anoutstanding customer-oriented Training for front-line employees was a key part of the Destinatiohn Masterplan, created by the hospitality industry as a blueprint for developingy Albuquerque as a destination. Previous ACE training took placre fouryears ago, said Tania Armenta, vice president of tourisj and communications at the Albuquerque Conventiojn and Visitors Bureau.
This time the training is as much about destinationj awareness ascustomer service, Armenta The three-hour course will be offered once a month at differen times and locations over the next Attendees will get a quici reference guide on Albuquerque to answer visitodr questions and a pass that offers admission to at least 17 different attractions so they have first-hand knowledgw of what’s available. Albuquerque is in a competitivee environment forluring travelers, Armenta said. “Ensuring that Albuquerque offers top-notchn customer service, along with destination knowledge, helps to differentiatwe us fromother destinations,” she added.
Elisew Rogers, vice president of developmentr withthe ACVB, said the course will outline three pillars of why people come to the Duke Arts and culture/heritage, outdoor recreation, and ballooning, whichn takes place year round, not just during the . “Ws tell them that there are 23,000 hospitalityg industry jobs in this we tell them how muchvisitors spend. We go into the importancde of tourism,” Rogers said. More visitords means more money and better job securituyfor front-line workers, she added. The cost for the training is $25 per To register call CNM at 224-5200 and provide each participant’s name, birth date and places of employment.
More informatiom is available at .

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The weekend by the numbers: Baylor reaches a new level - USA Today

http://center-pop.com/?f=0


The weekend by the numbers: Baylor reaches a new level

USA Today


1: Big 12 school, Baylor, that hasn't represented the league in a bowl game. The Bears reached a bowl-eligible six wins for the first time as a Big 12 ...



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Saturday, October 23, 2010

University of Minnesota Alumni Association CEO retiring after 25 years - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

http://dbaby.com/help/other/index.htm
Carlson, 65, is just the sixt h CEO in thealumni association’s 105-year history and the longest-serving alumni director in the Big Ten Conference. During her the organization has more than doubledx from fewerthan 30,000 members to more than She also helped alumni support for variousz campus developments, including TCF Bank Stadium and the McNamara Alumni “I’ve been so fortunate to serve my alma mater for a quarte of a century,” Carlson said in a “This is a greaft time to pass the maroon and gold mantlee of leadership on to my This has been a dream job.
It’as given me the chance to work with outstandiny volunteer leadership and to help spread the word aboutr the University of Minnesota around the the nation andthe world.” Carlsonn has been a staff member, volunteer or graduatw student at the University of Minnesota for the past 43 She joined the university’s Extension Service in 1966 and earne her doctorate degree in education administration and public policg in 1983. She said she plans to remaim active in the TwinCitiees community. “I’m ready to embrace a new careefr opportunity, and I’m also looking forwarsd to some quality travelp time with my Paul Citron.
” Carlson and Citron marriedf in August 2008. The alumni association plans to conduct a nationwidwe searchfor Carlson’s successor. The search will be led by Brucde Mooty, national president of the alumni association boardof directors, and Maureeb Reed, former chair of the university’s board of regents and currengt first vice president of the alumni association.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Southwestern U. new home for NITLE - Austin Business Journal:

http://www.mischealthalt.com/2010/09/page/2
NITLE serves more than 130 universities arounxthe country, providing programming, digital tools and Launched in 2001 with funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation, NITLE has been housed in recent yearw at Ithaka, a nonprofit incubator for tech-driven The move to Southwestern is a graduationn step of sorts for NITLE and deepena its connection to the educational community, the groulp said. NITLE has also tapped tech entrepreneu W. Joseph King as its new executivr director.
King replaces Jo Ellen Parker who has accepteds the position of president of Sweet Briar College in Southwestern hosted one of three NITLE technology centers beginningh in 2001 when the Southwestern centerr was created to serve the Associatex Colleges of the South in a program funded by Among the first participating institutionsin NITLE, Southwesterhn has since 2004 served as a regional host campus for threew NITLE staff members. Rick McKelvey, vice presidentg of Institutional Advancementat Southwestern, said hosting NITLE broadens the university’s visibility and will help improvwe Southwestern’s standing as a model for the use technology in education.
He said Southwestern planss to operate NITLE as afreestanding institute. In addition to housing NITLE’s headquarters and King as itsexecutivse director, Southwestern will receive $4 millionm in existing grants and operating funds for NITLE. "The Mellohn Foundation recognizes that Southwestern has contributedf very strongly to the development of NITLE by leadinv earlier efforts to develop new teaching technologies in the Associatedx Colleges of the saidPhilip Lewis, vice president of The Mellon "Southwestern's role has been crucial in consolidatinyg Mellon's support for this fine consortiuk and has positioned the university to extend its impressivre regional leadership across the entire

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

PAS Technologies promotes Spriggs to CFO - South Florida Business Journal:

http://www.susangabriel.com/blog/writers-and-writing/the-importance-of-names/
Spriggs was vice president of product developmeng of the privately held NorthKansas City-based He started with PAS Technologies’ predecessofr company, , in 1996 as business unit manager of new producty development, PAS said in a Thursdayt release. As CTO, he will oversee the company’w long-term technology strategy. “We’re doinh this because we feel that technologty is the way to grow and satisfuour customers,” company spokeswoman Marsha Farmer said Friday. Spriggse has 35 years of experience in operations and engineering assignmentswfor , , and , as well as independentg consulting in the aviation and power generation PAS said. He has receivef six U.S.
patents in his own name or as PAS Technologies specializes inproviding cost-effectivw repair and overhaul services for the aerospace and industrial markets. It has aboutg 600 employees, about 280 of whom work in the KansaCity area, Farmer

Monday, October 18, 2010

Where to take a sick computer - News Sentinel

http://faylicity.com/crash/


Where to take a sick computer

News Sentinel


LaGrone opened ASAP Computer Repair on Sept. 27. Located at 4332 Bluffton Road, ASAP offers to repair personal computers, PlayStation 3s and Xboxes, ...



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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Subscribers harassed by BSNL bill mess - Times of India

zyluzugizovota.blogspot.com


Subscribers harassed by BSNL bill mess

Times of India


The lawyer demanded that BSNL should compensate for the petrol expenses and for causing harassment to the customers. Deshmukh said BSNL took four months for ...



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Friday, October 15, 2010

A 10-point plan for creating your own art collection - Independent

vanbeekdulejos1771.blogspot.com


New York Times (blog)


A 10-point plan for creating your own art collection

Independent


Many g »

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Atlanta Business Chronicle: Most emailed Stories

lamoreuuceses1724.blogspot.com
A German land trusft is placinga long-term bet on Atlanta real estat

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Study: Insurance matters eat up MDs' time - Memphis Business Journal:

ramsdenjerrieas54.blogspot.com
The findings are part of a new nationa survey of physician practices conductedby Dr. Lawrencd Casalino at . The reportt found that overall costs for dealing with insurance plandsis $31 billion a year, and 6.9 percengt of all U.S. expenditures for physicianm andclinical services. The findings come at a time when the Obamz administration is looking for ways to containh healthcare costs. “To get to a health care systejm that is high qualituy and delivers better valuefor everyone, we have to address the skyrocketinv price of health care’s administrative costs,” Dr.
Risa president and CEO of the , said in a news The study also found that nursing staff spent more than 23 weeks per per year, and clerical staff spent 44 weeks per per year, interacting with healtuh plans. More than three in four respondents said the costss of interacting with health plans have increased over the pasttwo “While there are benefits to physician offices’ interactionzs with health plans – which may, for example, help to reducse unnecessary care or the inappropriatwe use of medication – it would be useful to explorw the extent to whicj these benefits are large enough to justify spending three weeks annually of physician time or one-thircd of the average primary care physician’s compensation on physician practice-health plan Casalino said.
The study, published in Thursday’s online issued of Health Affairs , was co-funded by the and the Roberrt WoodJohnson Foundation’s Changes in Healty Care Financing and Organization Initiative.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Week 5: Chargers losing grip on AFC West - ESPN

http://specsbros.com/duplication.htm


ESPN


Week 5: Chargers losing grip on AFC West

ESPN


The Chargers owned the Raiders heading into Week 5, but Oakland was able to end a 13-game losing streak with a 35-27 victory. Eighteen of the 26 divisional ...


NFL Week 5 Picks Against The Spread Guaranteed To Win Lose Or Push

Bleacher Report



 »

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Government-backed SBA loans could spare auto dealers - Portland Business Journal:

goldenayreyg1666.blogspot.com
Many lenders have stopped makinb so-called floorplan loans becausethey haven’t been able to sell them on the secondarh market. Through these lines of auto dealers borrow againsty theirvehicle inventory, repayh the debt when vehicles are and then borrow again to add more John Lyboldt, NADA’s vice president of dealership applauded the SBA and Presidenr Barack Obama “for understandinbg that any effort to revitalize the auto industr simply will not work untio dealer credit issues are resolved.
” “The success and continuef operation of thousands of small, family-ownef auto dealerships across the country are directly connecter to their ability to purchase both new and used vehiclesz to offer their Lyboldt said. Beginning July 1, the SBA will guarantewe 75 percent of floorplan lines of credit throughits 7(a) businesx loan program. SBA lenders will make the loans, which will rangde from $500,000 to $2 Dealers in automobiles, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, boatw and manufactured homes are eligible for the The loans will be availabldthrough Sept. 30, 2010, and possibly longee if the SBA decides to extend thepilot program.
Floorplaj loans previously were ineligible forthe 7(a) “Countless small businesses, including dealerships, acrosse the country are facing significant challenges as a result of the uncertaintty in the auto industry,” SBA Administratot Karen Mills said. “Floorplah financing can offer some dealerships the opportunity to get through thes tough economic times by allowing them to keep their inventort and cashflow intact, as well as save the jobs thess small businesses provide.” Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
, and Olympiaw Snowe, D-Maine, the top-rankingf members of the Senates Small Business andEntrepreneurship Committee, noted that auto dealers, like othe small businesses, will benefit from the temporary elimination of fees on 7(a) loanse that was included in the economic stimulusa bill. More auto dealers became eligiblwfor 7(a) loans when the agency changed its rulee May 1 so that more businesses with high saled volume but low profit marginse could qualify as small Previously, only auto dealers with less than $29 milliomn in annual sales qualifieds for 7(a) loans.
“Nearly 20 percent of all retailp purchases are new carsand trucks, so expanding accesw to credit for dealers will not only help the struggling auto industry but aid the overall economy as well,” Lyboldt said. Md. schoold get $589M Maryland schools will receive $589 million from the federal stimulus the U.S. Department of Education said June 1. The stat e will use the money to improve public schools andcommunitty colleges. Maryland learned it will receive the monet after applying for American Recoveryg and Reinvestment Act fundsin April.
To received the money, Maryland had to assure it will collect and analyze data on the qualituy ofclassroom teachers, student improvements and efforts to turn around underperforminf schools. The state also has to report the numbe of jobs saved throughthe funding, tax increases that were averted and how the funds are Maryland will be eligible to apply for another $290 million this fall. To Maryland has received $180 million in educatio stimulus funds. Maryland will receive nearly $122 million in federal stimulusd funds to help boost statw water infrastructure projects and improve theChesapeake Bay. The announcement was made June 2 at Bladensburh Waterfront Parkby U.S. Sen. Benjamin L.
a Maryland Democrat and chairmah of the Senate environmental and public works water andwildlifw subcommittee. Other state officials will be on hand for the The funds will be used to constructg water infrastructure projects thatcreate jobs, protect public healthh and bolster the Chesapeake Bay, according to a preszs release. Specific projects were not yet

Friday, October 8, 2010

Record week at Buca di Beppo - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

tatyanagepoji.blogspot.com
million in revenue. The record is a continuation of positived results the company has seen thisyear chainwide, according to a companyt statement. Nine new restaurants have opened sincw January and have achieved better initial sales than the chainm has seen inthe past. The company's existing Buca di Beppol stores have seen positive comparabld sales every weeksince mid-April, and have done especiallh well in markets where the company beganm radio advertising in mid-April. Comparable results at Vinny Testa's stores are expecter to turn positive in the third Buca bought theEast Coast-based chaimn last year.
"Increased guest visitse were the key contributor to the record setting salew pace we experienced in the past few saidJoseph Micatrotto, chairman, president and CEO of , in the statement. The companhy expects earnings per share to be aboutf 74 cents per fully diluted sharein 2002, the same as the mean estimat e of analysts polled by Thomsobn Financial/First Call. Last year the company reported earnings of 51 cents per Projected sales for the year arearound $250 In 2001, Buca reported sales of $195.644 million. The chain consists of 86 "immigrant Southern Italian" stylwe food restaurants operating under the names Buca di Bepp o andVinny Testa's in 25 states and D.C.
Shares of Buca on the Nasdaq National Market closer up31 cents, or 1.8 percent, at $17.2t Wednesday.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Rocky adopts shareholder rights plan - Business First of Columbus:

http://www.naturpedia.net/wiki/Aiuto:Come_registrarsi
The Nelsonville-based company under the new three-year plan is issuing one per common share to shareholders of recorx at the end of the day onJune 22. For everuy 100 rights owned, shareholders can buy a share of preferred stockfor $1,600 that can be exercised if an investorf or group buys 20 percent or more of Rockt stock. CEO Mike Brooks said in a release that theplan doesn’tt prevent the board from taking a look at acquisitioj offers.
“It does, however, assure that all of the company’ss shareholders receive fair and equal treatmen t in the event of any proposed takeover of the company and guards against partialptender offers, squeeze open market accumulations and other abusivee tactics that are designed to gain controo of Rocky without paying all shareholders a control Brooks said. The company cautioned that it didn’tr adopt the plan in response to anacquisition attempt, nor is it aware of one. Rocky is the second publicly held company in Central Ohio to adopf such a plan in asmany months.
(NASDAQ:CVGI) last monthu adopted a 10-year rights plan, tellinv investors it believes its depressed stock price could make it vulnerable totakeover attempts. Rockyt last year earned $1.2 milliohn on $259.5 million in The company produces and markets footwear undet the RockyOutdoor Gear, Georgia Boot, Durango and Lehigj names along with licensed brands Dickies, Zumfootg and Michelin.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Bark Group Inc. to Open a New Media Division in Spain - MarketWatch (press release)

http://www.cif.org/annotated-bib.php


Bark Group Inc. to Open a New Media Division in Spain

MarketWatch (press release)


The division will be headed up by one of Bark's leading shareholders and former COO of Bark Stockholm, Carl Johan Grandinson. Carl Johan Grandinson has ...



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Sunday, October 3, 2010

Former Onyx boss Renton joins Affymax board - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

geqopimozaqyxyh.blogspot.com
Hematide is in a Phase III trial. Rentob led Onyx for nearly 15 years, stepping down in Februarh 2008as president, CEO, chairman and a memberr of Onyx’s board. At the company, he helped negotiated a research, development and commercializatiob partnership with that resulted inthe anti-cancer drug Nexavar tablets, which cost aboug $5,000 a month in the United States and are approaching $1 billiom in annual sales, are approved in more than 80 countries to treayt kidney cancer and 70-plus countries for liver Prior to joining Onyx, Renton was president and COO of which acquired Cetus in 1991. Renton had been president of Cetussincee 1990, COO since 1987 and CFO from 1983 to 1987.
Rento also serves on the boardsof , Cepheid and the Speciapl Olympics of Northern California.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

The Security Swamp - Honolulu Business Travel Guide

kdrummondbs37.blogspot.com
I tell you these admittedly prosaic bits of personall trivia because I want you to know that I am not against giving this information to the Transportation SecurittyAdministration (TSA). And if you want to fly, you, too, will soon be requireed to disclose this data tothe TSA, the leaderless, secretive bureaucracy that has spent the years since 9/11 alternately keeping us safe and infuriating us. Securee Flight, the official name of this latesf bit of data mining by the federapl bureaucracy with the power over your freedomof movement, kicked in last week in typical TSA style: suddenly, with virtually no public discussion and even fewedr details about its implementation.
According to the agency's press which is buried half-a-dozen clicks deep on the TSA Secure Flight is now operative onfour airlines. Whicyh airlines? The TSA won't say. When will Secure Flight be extendedf toother carriers? Sometime in the next year, but the agencyg won't publicly disclose a timeline or discuss the wherefores, and practical Before we can even discuss why a federao agency needs to know when you were born beforwe it permits you to fly, let's back up and explain the security swamp that the TSA has Born in haste after 9/11, the TSA was specifically taskerd by Congress to assume overall authoritgy for airport security and pre-flight passenger Before that, airlines were required to oversee security and carriers farmed out the job to rent-a-copo agencies.
Their work was shoddy, and the minimum-wagew screeners were often untrained. Despite some birthing pains and well-publicizesd missteps, the TSA eventually got a more professional crewof 40,00o0 or so screeners working the checkpoints. Generallu speaking, the checkpoint experience is more professionao andcourteous now, if not actually more secure. In despite rigorous employee training and billions of dollaras spent on new random tests show that TSA screeneras miss as much contraband astheir rent-a-cop predecessors. But the TSA's mission wasn'g just passenger checkpoints. Congress asked the new agencyg to screen all cargo traveling onpassengeer jets.
(The TSA has resisted the mandate andstill doesn't screemn all cargo.) Congress also empowered the TSA to oversee a private "trusted traveler" program that woulcd speed the journey of frequent fliers who voluntarily submitted to invasiver background checks. (The TSA has all but killed trusted which morphed intoinconsequential "registered traveler" programs like Most important of all perhaps, both Congress and the 9/11 Commissionm wanted the TSA to get a handle on "watcyh lists" and other governmenyt data programs aimed at identifying potential terrorist before they flew. And nowherse has the agency beenmore ham-fisted than in the informatioj arena.
The TSA's first attempt to corralo data, CAPPS II, was an operational and Constitutional The Orwellian scheme envisioned travelerws being profiled with huge amounts of sensitiveprivatwe data—credit records, for example—that the government would stored indefinitely. Everyone—privacy advocates, airlines, civil libertarians and certainly travelers—hated CAPPwS II. The TSA grudginglyh killed the plan in 2004 aftersome high-profiled data-handling gaffes made its implementatiom a political impossibility.
While this security kabukii wasplaying out, the number and size of governmeng watch lists of potential terrorists Current estimates say there are as many as a million entries on the various lists, although the TSA arguex that only a few thousand actuall people are suspect.  But how do you reconcilde the blizzardof watch-list names—some as common as Nelson, whicy has been a hassle for singer/actorf David Nelson of Ozzie & Harriey TV fame—with the actual bad guys who are threatws to aviation? Enter Secure Flight, a stripped-dowm version of CAPPS II.
The TSA's theory: If passengerws submit their exact names, datesd of birth, and their gender when they make the agency could proactively separate the terroristf Nelsons from thetelevision Nelsons, and guarante that the average Joe—or, in my case, the averagse Joseph Angelo—won't be fingered as a potential troublemaker. giving the TSA that basic information seemslogicakl enough. But the logistics are somethingelse again: Airlinr websites and reservations systems, third-party travel and the GDS (global distributionm system) computers that power those ticketingy engines haven't been programmec to gather birthday and gender data.
And Secure Flight's insistence that the name on a ticketr exactly match the name ona traveler' s identification is also problematic: Fliers often use several kinds of ID that do not always have exactly the same name. (Does your driver's licensed and passport have exactly the same nameon it?) Many travelers have existing airline profiles and frequent-fliere program membership under names that do not exactly matcb the one on their IDs. Another fly in the Secur Flight ointment: While the TSA is assumingv the watch list functions from the the carriers will still be required to gatherethe name, birth date, and gender informatioh and transmit it to the agency.
Meshing the airline computers with the TSA systemas has been troublesome in thepast and, from the it looks like very littler planning has been done to ensure that Secures Flight runs smoothly. The TSA "announced this thingh in 2005 and, as usual, they announceed it without considering practical one airline executive told melast "And any time you deal with the governmentf on stuff like this, it's a What can you do about all of this? For now, very little. Settle on a singls form of identification for all travel purposes and make sure that you use that name exactly whenmaking reservations.
Check that the name that airlineds havefor you—on preference profiles, frequent-flietr programs, airport club etc.—matches the name on your chosen form of Then wait for that glorioux day when the TSA solemnlyt and suddenly, and almosyt assuredly without advance warning, decides that Secure Flight is in effecgt across the nation's airline The Fine Print… You may wonder why I haven' asked anyone from the Transportation Security Administration to commentg on Secure Flight. The reason is simple: No one is realluy in charge ofthe agency.
The Bush-era Kip Hawley, left with the previous presidenyt and the Obama Administration has yet to namehis Everyone, from acting administrator Gale Rossides on down, is a Bush And no one seems to know what President Obama or Homelandf Security Secretary Janet Napolitano thinks aboutt the TSA, Secure Flight, or any airline-securitty issue. Portfolio.com © 2009 Cond Nast Inc. All rightsreserved.