Big bang for the buck: Employers look for inexpensive benefits to boost morale - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Experts say small perks, like movies and meals beinhg offered by somelocal employers, can go a long way toward appeasing employees who have been batteresd in recent months by plummeting investments, frozen pensiobn plans and even the layoffs of some of thei r co-workers. At , employees will soon be offererdaffordable take-home dinners for those busy days when there simplyg is not enough time to cook, but they want somethingf better than typical fast-food. And at in employees can watch a movied during lunch in a break room that includeswa movie-style popcorn machine.
“Anything you do that help reduce stress and inconvenience in lives is areal winner,” said Douglad Dean, the chief human resource officer at Children’s Healt h System. It usually is easier to keep employeese content when life away from the offics isgoing well. But when gas priced soar and homevalues drop, any small benefit s that companies can offer their employees can go a long way toward keeping workerds happy and morale high.
And in this economy, many companiees are looking any inexpensive perks or benefits that can makea “Employees are always looking to see what their compangy is doing, even in the small things,” said Michael the director of human resourceds at in Birmingham. “It reiterates that you care about especiallywhen you’re going through a difficulrt time. Little things add up.” After gas prices began barrelingtoward $4 a gallon last Wolfe said SourceMedical offered employees the option of working from home a few days each week wheneverr possible, to eliminate the money-burning commute.
And in the company started providing a service called Teladoc that allows employeesw to speak with a doctor 24 hours a day without having to seetheir primary-care physicianj or make a trip to the emergency room. “Thingas like that make it easier for our employees and makesz themfeel valued,” Wolfe said. Maintaining a positivr attitude in the workplace can involvee more than justpractical matters. It also can be important simply to make the office an enjoyabl e placeto be. For example, in addition to the movid room, MailSouth has several plasma televisions scatteree throughoutits offices.
There is also a free on-site employede fitness center that includes occasionalaerobicas classes. And since the company has approximatelhy 30 graphic artists on employee artwork is displayed throughoutrthe building. “We try to do littlw things to help keep things light in the saidDawn Hrdlica, the human resources manager at MailSouth. “We’re a deadline-driven so the pace is very fast. These sortws of things where people can get away from their deskas and do some fun stuf really does help with The hectic pace of both work and personakl life is one of thereasona Children’s Health Systems began offering employees the chance to purchasew complete take-home dinners.
“They are gettingb off a long shift, they’re stressed and they have to pick the kids Dean said. “This is an option to grab somepretty high-quality food to take home to theidr family. We want it to be healthy, tasty If it’s no better than what you can get at the then I’m not sure you’re helping anybody.” While budgetg cuts are sometimes necessary during economic Wolfe said it is important not to slasg or eliminate some of the regular perkss that can help perk up the An employee might be visually confronted with the declining value of a 401(k) only a few timeas a year. Take away free coffee, however, and that is noticedx every single day.
“When you start nickel-and-diming employees and taking awaylittlee things, it makes them feel unappreciated and more like a number than a valued resource,” Wolfe said. “And the cost of some of these things is so minimalthat you’re really not getting that much of a savings. You want to continue to do the smalo things to make sure that your employees feel Because when it comes to maintainingemployee morale, the little thingsa often do mean a lot. “In life in it’s the small thingws that get us through. It’s the daily touches,” Hrdlica said. “The thing that keeps employeess engaged is how you feel at the end of the day when youleavd work.
You get a tremendou s return on investment by just letting people know that youappreciate Birmingham.By Cary Estes | SPECIAL In toughh economic times, it is nice to know you can still afford dinner and a movie. It is even nicer when it’s supplied by your Experts saysmall perks, like movies and mealds being offered by some local employers, can go a long way towardr appeasing employees who have been battered in recent monthxs by plummeting investments, frozen pension plans and even the layoffds of some of their co-workers.

LSI wins major contract; will buy ADL Technology - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Blue Ash-based LSI also has picked up a contract, wortgh $22 million to $23 million, to upgrade the lightingg for a national chain of gas station convenience according to anews release. The news sent sharez of LSI (NASDAQ: LYTS) up more than 14 or 70 cents, to $5.52 in Tuesda y afternoon trading. ADL's circuit boardsa and assemblies are used in applications that includsLED lighting, an area where LSI has been trying to expand. LSI purchasesd Montreal-based LSI Saco Technologies, a designerr of LED lighting, in 2006. The contract with the retaik chain, which LSI did not identify, involves upgradinbg canopy, site and security lighting withLED technology.
The initiak phase involves the conversion of morethan 1,100 stores, LSI with additional work possible in fiscal 2010 and 2011. “Thesre are two very positive developments forLSI Industries,” said Robert Ready, presidengt and CEO in the release. “Very clearly, the interest and momentum in LED-based lighting solutions is growing rapidly.” LSI manufactures and marketz indoor and outdoor lighting and graphics in North and South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and

Law Enforcement on Lookout for Impaired Drivers - 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis

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Law Enforcement on Lookout for Impaired Drivers 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis During the 17-day mobilization officers will work overtime trying to identify impaired drivers. In March 2009, there were 41 fatalities on Indiana roadways. Of these, 24 percent involved a driver who was leg »

Abingdon Man Pleads Guilty in Hotel Meth Lab Case - CIproud.com

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Abingdon Man Pleads Guilty in Hotel Meth Lab Case CIproud.com An Abingdon man entered a guilty plea Thursday to aggravated participation in meth manufacturing and aggravated DUI in a separate case. 30 year old Rhyder Gray could face from 6 to 30 years in prison when he's sentenced April 28th. ... Meth cooker faces 6-30 years after guilty plea Galesburg Register-Mail  »

Mortgage Bankers Association Company Profile | Company Information

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MBA invests in communities across the nation by ensurinhg the continued strength ofthe nation's residential and commerciao real estate markets; expandint homeownership and extending accesds to affordable housing to all Americans and supportingg financial literacy efforts. Make no mistake about it; we are an organizatioh dedicated to helping our members dotheir business. We activelyt advocate for our members, and have done so for nearlyt a century. We have seen the real estate financee industry evolve into one of the strongest and most sophisticatedx ofglobal markets.
We promote fair and ethical lendingg practices and foster professional excellence among real estater finance employees through a wide range of educationa programs and a varietyof publications. We have over 3,00o member companies, including all elements of realestater finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial thrifts, life insurance companies and others in the mortgagew lending field. We provide up-to-the minute news and informatiomn to our members so they are bettere able to meet the needs oftheir ...

MMAC: Milwaukee-area economy still sluggish - Orlando Business Journal:

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Only three of 20 April indicators registereds improvementfrom year-ago levels, matching the number of upward-pointin indicators recorded in March, the MMAC said in its Economid Trends report. "The employment situation continued to deterioratew with deepening job declines and unemploymentr indicators over double what they were oneyear ago," said Bret economic research director for the MMAC. "But metrl area existing homes sales rose for only the seconrd time in nearly three years giving some hopefor near-termj improvement in a stagnant local housin g and real estate market." Nonfarm employment in the metrp area fell 4.
8 percent in Aprikl to 812,300, down from March’sd 4.3 percent decrease. Employment levels have now declined comparedswith year-ago levels in each of the past 12 with April’s decline beinf the steepest registered in this period, the MMAC Only two of 10 major industry sector s registered April job gains comparecd with one year ago, while eight registered declines. Unemployment indicators for the metrlo area both measured more than twicethei year-earlier levels. The number of unemployefd in metro Milwaukeerose 117.6% againstr year-ago levels, to 70,300 compared with 32,30p0 in April 2008. Likewise, new unemployment compensatio claims rose ata 104.
6 perceny rate in April to this indicator’s third consecutivs year-over-year increase of 100 percent or greater. On the positivre side, existing homes sales for the metro arearose 5.6 perceng in April, the firsgt year-over-year increase in this indicator in seven months and only the second such gain in nearly threde years.

Foreclosure lawsuit targets Boynton Beach shopping center - South Florida Business Journal:

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Fort Lauderdale-based filed the lawsuit March 9 againstgSafety Harbor-based , parent corporation and Chairmamn Charles H. Monroe III. The foreclosure action is based on a leasehold mortgage and credity facility last modifiedat $14.4 milliomn in early 2007. The propertyg is owned by QuantumPark & Village, whicjh leased the land at the northwes corner of Gateway Boulevard and High Ridge Road to MPG Gatewa in 2003. MPG Gateway then built the 93,144-square-foot Publix-anchored shopping center with money from the leasehold mortgage from The shopping center openedin 2007.
According to Monroe’s Prestige Group’s Web 27,802 square feet are available for Asidefrom Publix, other tenants includw , Supercuts and Firehouse Subs. The plagure of commercial defaults has toucherd a tony Palm Beach which was once owned by a Greeki playboy chargedwith murder. The Park Avenue Inn, in the town of Palm is scheduled for a foreclosure sale March 26 at the countyt courthouse in WestPalm Beach. The B. Charles Ames a lender in Ohio, won a $10.87 million foreclosure judgment anda $611,700 promissory note judgmenr on Feb.
23 againstg Park Avenue Palm Beach and President Thanos According topublished reports, the son of a Greek shipping magnate, was arrestexd in November and charged with the March 2000 murder of a 55-year-ols man in London. Papalexis is awaiting triaol in England. Papalexis’ Park Avenue Palm Beacjh boughtthe 29-room, 12,141-square-foot hotel, at 240 Park Ave., for $2.8 milliom in 2006. The B. Charles Ames Trust gave the companyya $7.8 million mortgage on the property. Miami-based TotalBan has filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Parkside Estatesof Davie, a residential project. The bank is looking to foreclosure on 21unsold single-family home lots.
The site is on the northb side ofOrange Drive, just west of Soutnh Pine Island Road. On March 10, TotalBanlk filed the notice against Aventura-based Parkside Estates Associates and company officers Mark Tobi Rousso andGary Posner. The lawsuit also namesd Allen Greenwald and Jill Greenwald ofthe , a Miami-based development company, and Miami-based . After Parksidew Estates Associates bought the propertyfor $2.3 millio n in 2002, the Greenwalds gave the developer a $3.7 milliomn mortgage in 2005. That mortgage was assigned to City Nationalo Bank of Floridain February.
Parkside Estates Associatesa sold six lots in 2006 and completed two Thefollowing year, TotalBank granted Parksidw Estates Associates a $5.75 million mortgage on the 21 unsoled lots and an additional $880,000 mortgages on one of the lots where the developere planned to start wants to foreclose on 48 unsoldx units in the California Club Condominiu in North Miami Beach. The Miami-based bank filed a notice of foreclosurein Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on March 3 against Aventura-based North California LLC and personapl guarantor Juan Pablo Lorenzino. The California which was built in 1978 with 65 is at750 N.E. 195th St. Miami-based Pinebankl wrote North Californiaa $3.
8 milliohn mortgage in 2005, with a maturity date of Nov. 23, 2010. Republic Federal Bank subsequentlyacquireds Pinebank. A block of property across the street from the beach in Pompano Beach has been schedulef for a foreclosure sale after wonan $11 milliob lawsuit. The site, at the northwestt corner of South OceanDrive (A1A) and Southeast Ninthn Street, was cleared for residential developmentf by Novi, Mich.-based owner Crosswinds at Pompano No vertical construction took place. The developedr bought the site in 2006for $8.9 milliom through two transactions. Mich.-based Huntington National Bank granted Crosswindsa $26.3 million mortgagew the same year.
The property will be sold at publif auction March 25 at the Broward County courthous e inFort Lauderdale.