The information were getting is that in the next year or so the amount of internet traffic coming from a mobile phone will be higher than from a desktop PC, says Woolworths innovation program manager Has Fakira.

We see this as an ideal way to provide greater choice and convenience to those customers who like to shop while theyre busy and on the go, whether they are on a bus or train or in the park.

PayPal Australia says more than 1000 purchases an hour are being made here from mobile phones.

Last week Woolworths upgraded the mobile phone app it launched last August to include a checkout facility, allowing users not just to compare prices and create shopping lists, but to shop from their mobile phones. Coles mobile phone app at present doesnt allow users to buy online.

Deakin University retail industry fellow Steve Ogden-Barnes believes the immediate growth of online grocery shopping in Australia will be minimal and driven by the ultra time-poor and the ultra housebound.

For many consumers online grocery shopping is still a pretty laborious activity if youre buying 50 or 60 products compared with buying one or two items of clothing, he says. I think a lot of people think its just as easy to go to the shops yourself. He believes the real growth in online grocery shopping is with discount retailers such as GroceryRun, SupermarketDeals and OffYourTrolley that offer non-perishable grocery products at up to 50 per cent off.

Since its launch in October, GroceryRun has received more than 200,000 orders. A spokeswoman says more than 20 per cent were made from iPhones and iPads.

#13;

But thanks to a collaborative community effort, the retail shopping center is getting a facelift, and criminal activity has drastically decreased in the recent months.

#13;

The San Diego County Sheriffs Department, along with the Institute for Public Strategies (IPS) and several community groups have been working for more than a year to help cleanup the site and make it safer.

#13;

Recently, new exterior lighting was put up in the parking lot, making it safer at night, and the parking lot was paved and painted giving it a cleaner look. Trash pickup efforts and additional landscaping efforts have also improved the look of the plaza.

#13;

It was a real problem area. Customers were afraid to go shopping there, said Jose Ortiz of the Sheriffs Crime Prevention Unit. People were overwhelmed by the excessive panhandling, older ladies were threatened there, and the homeless situation was really bad.

#13;

Another of the persistent problems was that youth were stealing beer and alcohol from the supermarket and brazenly re-selling it out of the trunks of their cars in the parking lot.

#13;

The alcohol situation was what first got IPS involved, said a representative from the agency. There has been a noticeable change, but theres still a lot of work to be done.

#13;

About 18 months ago, the store began locking up its alcohol in glass cases. Now, when a customer wants to purchase alcohol, he or she has to ring a buzzer next to the display, and an employee walks the bottles up to the checkout counter.

#13;

As soon as we installed the cases, we saw an immediate dropoff in alcohol loss, said Eric Wemett, store director for Albertsons. We still get an occasional theft of beer, but its gone down consistently. We used to average about 15-to-20 thousand dollars in liquor loss per quarter when the alcohol was freely accessible.

#13;

Wemett said that he knows its inconvenient to some customers, but that the savings more than justify any potential loss of sales from customers who dont want to abide by the policy.

#13;

Tony Williams, who has been the manager at The UPS Store adjacent to Albertsons has also seen a big difference.

#13;

We used to see kids blasting out of the Albertsons with beer and liquor and running back between the buildings to where someone was waiting for them, said Williams. But we havent seen or heard of that in quite some time.

#13;

The project started about two years ago, with the first year spent planning and implementing policies. Ortiz said the second year has been about putting the plan in place and actually making physical changes to the property. He added that the Sheriffs Department assinged a Special Purpose Deputy to the plaza to have a regular patrol and respond to any problems that come up.

#13;

The Sheriffs Department has also encouraged retail tenants in the space to form a makeshift neighbordhood watch and to report on any suspicious or illegal activity. The tenants often meet up a the Sheriffs substation in the plaza to share information and get updates.

#13;

There is still a push to make more improvements to the property as well.

#13;

The next steps are to really get more community involvement, the IPS representative said. We want to get another trash cleanup started, and have more parking bumpers painted, as well as to put up more No Loitering signage in the parking lot.

#13;

So far, the improvements are tangible.

#13;

The biggest improvements is the parking lot, said Williams. It just makes people more comfortable to come down here and shop, and not be bothered by as many homeless.

#13;

Wemett agrees. He called the state of the parking lot before the paving horrible, theres no other way to describe it. He said that there were so many potholes, that hes thankful that more people werent hurt.

#13;

It definitely seems like things are going in the right direction, he said.

#13;

(Editors Note: As per an IPS media policy, individuals are not allowed to be quoted by name.)

Tim Connors has been named chief operating officer at Legendary Entertainment, the company said Thursday.

Im proud to have been a part of what the Marvel team has accomplished over the past 6 years and honored to be joining Legendary at a time when the company is on the verge of significant growth, Connors said in a statement. They are spearheading bold new initiatives which I am excited to help them accomplish.

Connors will manage Legendarys day-to-day operations and will report to Legendarys Chairman and CEO Thomas Tull.

Also read: Legendary Kills Paradise Lost Production

The move comes on the same day that the company announced it was shutting down production on Paradise Lost over budget concerns.

Connors served as COO for Marvel Studios since 2008 and executive vice president of business affairs and operations since 2006. At Marvel, he helped oversee the studios slate of hit comic book adaptations such as Iron Man and Thor, as well as its $4 billion sale to Disney in 2009.

At Legendary, he will be partly tasked with overseeing the roll-out of The Dark Knight Rises, featuring a character plucked from rival DC Comics library of characters.

Also read: Legendary Pictures Making Jackie Robinson Biopic

He joins Legendary as the company is expanding its reach and moving from being a co-producer on films like The Hangover, to developing its own projects. It has also eyed the Asian market, having recently launched Legendary East, a joint venture in China.

To fund this growth, Legendary closed on a new $700 million credit facility last summer.

Related Articles: Legendary Kills Paradise Lost Production Legendary Pictures Making Jackie Robinson Biopic

NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
American International Toy Fair — Today, MGA Entertainment announced its commitment and support to the fight against cancer by launching new hairless versions of their hit doll brands, Bratz® and Moxie Girlz(TM). Under the banner “”True Hope,” MGA will release three Bratz® dolls – Cloe(TM), Yasmin(TM) and Cameron(TM), and three Moxie Girlz(TM) dolls, Avery(TM), Sophina(TM) and Jaxson(TM). Available at Toys”R”Us® stores and toysrus.com beginning in June, MGA will donate $1 for every “True Hope” Bratz® and Moxie Girlz(TM) doll, sold to distributors, to City of Hope for cancer research.

The announcement comes on the heels of an ever-growing social media movement that calls for toymakers to create hairless dolls to emotionally comfort young girls and boys who suffer from hair loss due to cancer treatments.

“MGA’s mission is to provide joy and happiness to kids around the world. We believe children are our legacy and want them to be healthy, have confidence in their imagination and build their dreams into reality,” said Isaac Larian, CEO MGA Entertainment. “We have a responsibility to children and we take that responsibility very seriously. The Bratz and Moxie Girlz “True Hope” dolls are designed to support and comfort young girls and boys who so bravely endure cancer treatments. MGA also wants to be an active supporter in the fight to develop lifesaving treatments for children.”

“We are proud that Toys”R”Us will be the first retail destination to offer “True Hope” dolls, which embody hope, strength and courage for children facing adversity,” said Jerry Storch, Chairman and CEO, Toys”R”Us, Inc. “This charitable initiative by MGA is consistent with our own philanthropic mission to help kids in times of need, including those fighting pediatric cancer.”

MGA has tapped City of Hope as the recipient of monies that will be generated from sales to retailers of these dolls. City of Hope is a leading research, treatment and education center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as a comprehensive cancer center, the highest honor bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope’s research and treatment protocols advance care throughout the nation. City of Hope is located in Duarte, Calif., just northeast of Los Angeles.

“City of Hope is at the forefront of research to ensure that people with cancer receive the best possible treatment,” said Steven Martin, vice president of marketing for City of Hope. “The support of MGA Entertainment will help our researchers in their drive to discover new and improved treatments. The “True Hope” Bratz and Moxie Girlz dolls are wonderful opportunities to raise funds for lifesaving research – as well as to raise cancer awareness among young people around the world.”

About MGA Entertainment, Inc.

MGA Entertainment, a consumer entertainment products company headquartered in Van Nuys, California, manufactures innovative lines of proprietary and licensed products including toys and games, dolls, consumer electronics, home decor, stationery and sporting goods. The MGA family includes award-winning brands such as Little Tikes®, Lalaloopsy(TM), Bratz®, Moxie Girlz(TM), BFC, Ink. (TM), Rescue Pets® and Zapf Creation®. For more information please visit:
www.mgae.com ,
www.littletikes.com ,
www.lalaloopsy.com ,
www.bratz.com ,
www.moxiegirlz.com ,
www.moxieteenz.com , and
www.bfcink.com .

SOURCE MGA Entertainment, Inc.

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Feb 10 – Investor concerns about the European Economic and Monetary
Unions (eurozones) sovereign crisis and the changing global regulatory
landscape dont bode well for companies looking to raise capital or refinance
maturing debt–especially lower-rated issuers, said an article published today
by Standard Poors Global Fixed Income Research, titled Global Uncertainty
Continues To Suppress Speculative-Grade Issuance Activity.

New issuance activity remains tepid, despite improving in January, said
Diane Vazza, head of Standard Poors Global Fixed Income Research. This was
particularly true for speculative-grade issuers. Overall, global new issuance
activity for both investment- and speculative-grade issuers in January was the
slowest start in the past seven years. A total of $230 billion in new
corporate bonds came to market in January, following $2.4 trillion in 2011.
About half of the new bonds in January were issued by companies from Europe,
26% were from US companies, 13% from emerging markets, and 11% from other
developed countries. By comparison, new bond issuances from Europe and the
US in 2011 were a more balanced 35% and 31%, respectively. Moreover, Chinese
companies were also very active in 2011, which helped increase the proportion
of new issuance from the emerging markets to 22% from just 19% in 2010, and
even lower in previous years.

The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit
Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect
subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-7280
or sending an e-mail to research_request@standardandpoors.com. Ratings
information can also be found on Standard Poors public Web site by using
the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com.
Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media
representative provided.

Primary Credit Analyst: Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760;
diane_vazza@standardandpoors.com ]]> http://www.b25barbieiii.com/index.php/2012/02/19/text-sampp-new-issuance-activity-remains-sluggish-in-january/feed/ 0 http://www.b25barbieiii.com/index.php/2012/02/19/should-there-be-and-activity-fee/ http://www.b25barbieiii.com/index.php/2012/02/19/should-there-be-and-activity-fee/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:58:59 +0000 admin http://www.b25barbieiii.com/?p=1008 Should There Be an Activity Fee?

While controversy may surround a proposed school district activity fee, a solution will be found by the will of the people.

Want a good movie rental while staying in with the kids for Valentines Day? Check out these North Star State heartthrobs

Posted at 05:34 PM ET, 02/10/2012
Weekend update: Find romance in Washington
By Brandon Weigel

Need to fan the flames this Valentine’s Day? We have 25 spots that serve as great romantic restaurants or places for a first date, to pop the question and plant a kiss.

Also in Weekend:

We round up the best events going on this weekend, including area theater companies getting together to create, rehearse and act a play in a day, a festival for wine and food lovers, and an event for all you audiophiles out there.

For Oscar buffs, we’ve got all the information you need to catch up on this year’s nominated short films.

Fritz Hahn takes you inside Boxcar Tavern, the latest Capitol Hill bar from Xavier Cervera, the owner of Molly Malone’s, Lola’s, Senart’s Oyster and Chop House, and the Chesapeake Room.

In fall 2010, the popular Connecticut Avenue NW burger joint Rogue States was asked to close after a building tenant sued, alleging that fumes wafted to the offices above. Now chef Raynold Mendizabal is back with a new ventilation system and a new name, Black & Orange. The internationally accented menu of burgers, however, remains unchanged.

The Founding Fathers are part of American folklore. But how much does the mythology obscure the facts? Two new exhibits focus on two of the most well-known Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. “Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty” looks at the contradictory nature of the third president’s pursuit of liberty while also owning slaves. “Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World” examines Franklin’s career as a printer and his indecisiveness about separating from Britain.

A character named Big Hog who spews Gertrude Stein-influenced utterances that critique our modern consumerist society? Yup, that’s the procine perspective offered in Jason Grote’s new play, “Civilization (All You Can Eat),” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.

As always, get the latest movie reviews, including the latest Denzel Washington action flick, “Safe House,” and “W.E.,” the period film written and directed by Madonna.

By Brandon Weigel
 | 
05:34 PM ET, 02/10/2012

Categories: 
Events

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Something for the weekend: planning for snow… or for brunch

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) — If youre unattached and looking for a sure thing on Valentines Day, heres a tip: Sit down front at Joes Pub. Your chances of success could be as high as 49 percent.

People are looking for a night of entertainment and hoping to meet their next hot romance, comedian Roslyn Hart said in an interview.

The star of Never Sleep Alone, a cabaret show in which she appears as Dr. Alex Schiller, says her mission is helping singles find each other.

Seating is arranged for maximum exposure. Theres a voyeur section for those who prefer to watch and a singles section nearer the stage for active participants.

Opening night in November, Hart said, resulted in a reported 47 hook-ups from a sell-out crowd of 200. Any bookmaker would tell you that just under 50 percent is pretty good odds.

Never Sleep Alone starts at 9:30 on Valentines Day and will also be performed every Friday in March. Dress to impress.

Theres an after-party for adventurous mingling. Contact Dr. Alex for details, even if you didnt get tickets to the show. Information: +1-212-967-7555; .
www.joespub.com

Art for the Heart

At the other end of the spectrum, the Municipal Art Society has organized an early-evening tour of selected Chelsea galleries on Valentines Day.

Art historian Sylvia Laudien-Meo will lead the group past Damien Hirsts spot paintings at Gagosian, Weegees photographs of gritty New York scenes at the Steven Kasher Gallery and Doug Wheelers light installation at David Zwirner.

You will doubtless be more attractive after learning about contemporary art. Take your looks to places like Bar Veloce for a bottle of sparkling pinot noir to share or The Tippler in Chelsea Market for a Top Cat made with Averna amaro.

Information: +1-212-935-2075; .
www.mas.org/tours

Power Spot

Another option: power place Michaels in midtown, where you can continue the arty conversation amidst the Jasper Johns and David Hockney canvases.

Sit at the bar and order a Cupids Arrow made with Santa Teresa 1796 rum and Fonseca Bin 27 port. Its silky and smooth and has a hint of sweetness.

Bar tender Michael Flannery has lots of good stories about his life in the business. He can teach you a fair amount about mixing drinks and you can watch him flame a twist to bring out the oils in the rind.

At 24 W. 55th St. Information: +1-212-767-0555; .
michaelsnewyork.com

Pickup Joints

You never know where you might meet someone.

Crossing the park the other day I caught the eye of a businessman, then two joggers and, finally, a woman walking four dogs. Was it my mysterious scarf, my new straight hairdo or my open heart?

Whatever, consider taking a walk through Central Park, preferably with a dog. Conversations flow easily as you blubber over a mutt because of the human companion.

More tips: places with Fatty in their names are good pickup joints.

For instance, Fatty Cue has a convivial bar. And I became friendly with a real estate lawyer at Fatty Crab over a spicy Chupacabra tequila cocktail. I actually needed a lawyer for an acquisition and was happy when he said: Im cheap cuz Im rich.

Divorcees

How about a Divorce Music CD release party at the Delancey? There must be lots of newly single people there.

The Lumiere String Quartet will play songs from their latest album, including The Thrill Is Gone, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and These Boots Are Made for Walkin.

Violinist Victoria Paterson, whos married, says a guy on the subway started hitting on her when she showed him the CD.

Paterson says the group has a classical wedding CD that sells well on the Web. She and her husband thought it would be amusing to come up with the antithesis of a wedding album, and so the divorce album was born.

Its like the yin and yang. Ode to Joy, Ode to Sorrow, Paterson says.

The ensemble will play a few tunes not on the album, including Lady Gagas Bad Romance. Ive got high hopes for this party.

The Delancey is on the Lower East Side at 168 Delancey St. Information: +1-212-254-9920, .
thedelancey.com

(Catherine Smith writes for Muse, the arts and culture section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)

–Editor: Jeremy Gerard, Manuela Hoelterhoff.

To contact the writer on the story: Catherine Smith in New York c.smith@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.

Downs, a construction worker, began to see a steady stream of heavy equipment and trucks lumbering down his road, especially around a well site off Loudon Street.

The activity Downs witnessed is one indication of growing oil and gas drilling activity in Ohio and elsewhere triggered by price rises that peaked around 3 1/2 years ago.

In west-central Licking County in particular, those changes are translating into increased drilling and production activity, with 30 permits issued in 2011 and 2012 for new wells, particularly in Granville, McKean, Liberty and St. Albans townships, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources records.

Permits for seven wells have been issued in Granville Township since 2008, including three in 2011.

Three of the new Granville Township wells have been drilled since June, and two of the three have been drilled in the last month, according to Licking County Oil and Gas Inspector Brent Bear. All three are located in the northern half of the township. One well is located on Ohio 661, the other two on Loudon Street.

ODNR records also show five wells were in production in 2010 — only one of which was drilled since 2008.

Downs, alarmed by the sudden activity, said he would like to have known ahead of time what was coming.

I do think that neighbors who choose to drill on their property and the people who actually do the drilling — I think its a common courtesy for them to inform the adjacent neighbors beforehand so they can judge for themselves the level of concern they want to have about the situation, Downs said.

ODNR sends out weekly emails on new oil and gas well permits to townships that have requested to be on the list, agency spokeswoman Heidi Hetzel-Evans said. Granville Township Trustee Paul Jenks said the township is not on the list but will make a request to get on it.

Downs had enough time to make some calls to ODNR and to have his water tested before the start of drilling nearer his home, to serve as a comparison if his water is affected.

I did want to get that pre-water drilling analysis done, he said.

Downs is a part of a group of several Granville Township residents forming a group to share information and get answers to questions they have about the drilling and wells. A website, www.lcountyfracking.org, has been established to aid in that cause.

A good deal of the oil and gas drilling in Ohio is targeting the Clinton sandstone, a modestly deep layer of rock that is present in Granville Township, according to ODNR officials. They say the oil and gas industry has long used a technique called hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, to drill the Clinton. Fracking is a drilling technique in which water mixed with sand and chemicals is pumped into a layer of rock in order to open up cracks in which the oil or gas are located.

But deeper in the ground is another layer of oil- and gas-rich rock called the Utica Shale. Drilling the Utica Shale will involve a different variation of fracking — one that has drawn criticism about potential contamination of the aquifer. In that process, the drilling enters the rock layer horizontally — not vertically as in traditional drilling — and the volume of water and chemicals is much larger.

Local fracking use?

David R. Hill, owner of a company that has drilled the largest producing well in Granville Township, said no fracking of any kind is being used for any of the wells his company operates in the township.

The formations we are drilling in Granville Township produce naturally, he said. They dont require fracking.

Fracking has been used to drill the great majority of the some 80,000 wells drilled in Ohio since the 1970s, ODNR geologist Mike McCormac said.

But about 20 percent are drilled without fracking, ODNR geologist Mike Williams said.

It depends on the depth of the well and the quality of the sandstone, he said.

Two of the three newly permitted wells are likely to be drilled into the Clinton, which lies 2,500 to 3,000 feet below the ground, Williams said. One of those wells is targeting oil and gas in a layer of dolomite that is deeper than the Clinton sandstone, Williams said. McCormac said a technique other than fracking might be used for it.

There are no injection wells for disposal of fracking fluids in Granville Township, McCormac said.

Lease activity aimed at Utica Shale

There also has been a flurry of activity on another front in Granville Township — the signing of gas and oil leases by property owners and oil and gas recovery firms. A total of 166 leases for testing or drilling were signed during the period Jan. 1, 2009, to Dec. 22, 2011, according to the Licking County Recorders Office. Only 17 were signed in the previous two years.

McCormac said most of that leasing activity is probably related to local gas and oil companies future plans to drill the Utica Shale.

There was a lot of leasing activity three or four years ago (in eastern Ohio), McCormac said. Now they are drilling there. There are waves of leasing moving from the east to west across the state.

One of the wells with recorded production in 2010 — located on Ohio 661 — far outpaced the others, according to ODNR records. It produced 223 barrels of oil and 86,440 Mcf (thousand cubic feet) of natural gas, compared with an average of about 3,500 Mcf of gas and no oil for the other five.

The Ohio 661 well is the only well to come into production in the last couple of years, ODNR officials say. Of the three wells drilled in the past year, two are developmental and one probably exploratory, according to the ODNR officials. Developmental wells tap known deposits of oil or gas; exploratory wells are intended to locate those deposits.

There are no pending applications for permits, Williams said.

Precautions urged

Bill Habig, retired director of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and a former Granville Township trustee, says the benefits of oil and gas production — including jobs, tax revenues for government and royalties for property owners — need to be balanced with a careful approach to the environmental issues.

There needs to be a sensitivity to the impact of these things, he said. This is potentially very good for our states economy if its done right.

ODNR typically inspects new wells at the point at which the casing — different widths of pipe encased in cement that surround the bore hole — is installed as a measure to protect the aquifer from any infiltration of oil or gas, McCormac said. Since 2008, there have been no violations of ODNR oil and gas regulations in Granville Township, Hetzel-Evans said.

Although most of the loads carried by oil and gas drilling trucks are within the legal limit, county and township roads are not intended for trucks carrying that weight, Licking County Engineer Bill Lozier said.

He said the Licking County Engineers Office can coordinate an agreement on road use between a township and an oil and gas company in advance of any drilling. In a standard agreement that the engineers office employs, the county can require the company to reinforce or otherwise improve roads in advance of drilling and require it pay a bond to reimburse the township or county for any damage.

Granville Township Trustee Paul Jenks said the possible concerns were damage to the roads and tracking mud and gravel onto them. He said the township doesnt have an agreement with any companies that have recently been drilling in the township, but that they appear to be doing a nice job in regard to care of the roads.

We have not had any complaints about mud, he said.