PBS series schools us on small business
March 26, 2008
Small business owners have it tough. Forget about floating holidays, cushy benefits or corporate IT support; oftentimes, they have only themselves to rely on in a jam.
That’s why the producers of the PBS series “Small Business School” aim to make successful small business owners larger-than-life.
Dedicated exclusively to telling the stories behind small businesses, the weekly series takes you inside hundreds of companies so you can learn from owners who are the best in their category.
The business owners featured on the show have created jobs for at least ten years, they are considered leaders by their peers and they’re often beloved in their local communities.
And - I’m telling you this because - starting today, clips from the show will be featured on The Daily Record Web site.
Each day, a 1-4 minute video clip from the show will be offered, courtesy of Producer/Host Hattie Bryant (above) and “Small Business School.”
Take a look at today’s clip, and let us know what you think the unique challenges of being a small business owner in Maryland are.
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentU.S. News’ law school rankings
March 26, 2008
Wondering how your alma mater will fare in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings? Well, wonder no longer, as the first page of the rankings has leaked.
Check it out. And thanks to AbovetheLaw.com for the info.
JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist
Sphere: Related ContentBaltimore, the homeless and hotels
March 26, 2008
Wednesday, the city’s spending panel discussed the authorization of $60,000 to pay the hotel bills for 41 homeless Baltimoreans who have been living in a Quality Inn and 12 more homeless families who were living in the Ramada Inn since mid-December.
They were relocated there from encampments under the JFX because the city said they were creating a fire hazard, and the city’s “Code Blue” shelter had filled up and the weather was getting increasingly cold. They were originally slated to stay only until Jan. 23. The first leg of their stay, from Dec. 14 to Jan. 23, had a price tag of $125,000, which also came from city coffers.
When we here at the Daily Record noticed this item on the Board of Estimates’ meeting agenda, it got us thinking about these two very different, but very important types of developments: homeless shelters and hotels, and we decided to take a look at the numbers.
According to officials at the city’s Homeless Services offices, there are some 60 facilities in Baltimore, most of them run by nonprofits or city social services agencies, that serve the homeless. There are no city-run facilities to serve our roughly 3,000 homeless, but the city does contribute local, state, and federal grant money to these independent facilities.
Sphere: Related ContentTurning doubt into dough
March 25, 2008
Access Group, a non-profit student loan company, is running a contest to see which law student can produce the best video depicting worries during law school. The prize: A $10,000 scholarship.
The “One Less Worry Contest” plays off the company’s mission of “helping law students like you achieve your hopes and dreams with no worries.”
In my experience, this help usually comes at a 9.5% interest rate.
Whatever keeps you up at night, be it your class rank, anxiety over oral arguments or just the knowledge that you will soon be toiling even longer hours at a firm to pay back your Access Group loans, make a video about it for your chance to win some much-needed green.
The video, which should be no longer than four minutes, can be uploaded to this link on YouTube. (Don’t forget to read the contest rules and fine print — as every good lawyer should).
Entries will be received until June 15, and after Access Group picks 10 finalists, voting will begin July 1. The winner will be announced Aug. 1. One tip: make sure you make your movie after you finish your Admin Law outline.
Hat tip to Legal Blog Watch.
CHRISTINA DORAN, Assistant Legal Editor
Sphere: Related ContentAre we - finally - in a recession?
March 25, 2008
I’ve tried not to casually throw around the word “recession” on this blog, but it’s time we discussed the possibility.
Obviously, there’s been a rising number of home foreclosures nationwide, and yes, gas is up to almost $4 per gallon (it’s there already in Hawaii and parts of Calif.). Never mind the cost of food.
Well, this report hits close to home.
A group of churches in Frederick says there’s been a 30 percent jump in the number of people who’ve asked for help to make ends meet this year.
The Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs says more than 500 people asked for emergency aid in each of the first two months of this year. The group’s director says some of the requests are coming from people strapped by foreclosures on their homes, the high prices of home heating oil and gas.
Is this just the beginning of a recession’s impact on Maryland?
Or can the state get away relatively unscathed, thanks to our stable industries?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentApplicants for Judge Raker’s seat
March 25, 2008
As I wrote for today’s paper, five people have applied for Judge Raker’s Court of Appeals seat: Mary Ellen Barbera, William Chen Jr., Michael Mason, Chung Pak and Patrick Woodward.
I must admit that I’m not too up on the Montgomery County legal scene, so I’m wondering what those of you who are think about this crop of candidates. Any real stand-outs on this list?
CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentIs the workplace raunchier?
March 24, 2008
If it is, it may have something to do with miscommunication between male and female coworkers.
Not that I’m pointing fingers; I’m merely adding 1 + 1 = 2.
1. More women say they heard sexually inappropriate comments at work last year (38%, up from 22% in 2006. Source: Novations Group). The percentage of men who reported inappropriate comments held steady at 45%.
Why the increase? Well, it could be that male employees are lowering their guards around women they view as peers, says law prof Paul Secunda. The problem with that is what’s reasonable to a guy may not be reasonable to a gal. That difference “shows up in sexual-harassment case law,” he told BusinessWeek.
2. Or, it could be that the men are simply misinterpreting female behavior - something that happens frequently, according to a new NIH-funded study.
The young men who were part of the study had trouble noticing and interpreting the meanings of females’ non-verbal cues:
Rather than seeing the world through sex-colored glasses, men seemed just to have blurry vision of sorts, overall.
So, is the workplace less appropriate than in years past? Or are there simply differences in interpretation between genders that are biologically driven?
What else could explain the spike in sexual comments at work?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentStar-studded Nike ad calls out UnderArmour
March 24, 2008
If you watched any part of the NCAA basketball tournament over the weekend, you surely saw the “My better is better than your better…” commercials for Nike’s Sparq training gear. Both the gear and the commercials are clearly geared to thwarting competition from Baltimore-based Under Armour.
I know (or at least I think) I recognized a good number of professional athletes and coaches in the commercials, but the only ones I can put a name to are New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, USC football coach Pete Carroll and soccer star Julie Foudy. Web Specialist Joe Bacchus picked out the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash and soccer player Landon Donovan.
Here are two questions: 1) What athletes did you recognize from the commercials?
And, 2) should Under Armour be worried that Nike is coming after it full throttle?
ED WALDMAN, Managing Editor/Business
Business news sites to the rescue
March 24, 2008
In this time of questionable economic health (I’ll refrain from using the “r” word), one industry seems to be flourishing: Business news media.
It was less than a year ago that News Corp. debuted the Fox Business News channel (I’ll always remember the game “Business news anchor or porn star?“).
And, Reuters reports, this summer will bring “The Big Money,” a biz analysis-and-commentary site from the WaPo-owned online magazine Slate. Editor James Ledbetter said “TBM” will use “wit and irreverence to explain the arcana of Wall Street.”
Slate recently spun off a video site, Slate V, and launched The Root, an African-American news and opinion site.
So is there more business news to report, or are more people interested in hearing about it?
Are there aspects of the business world that have gone uncovered? Or is it the impending irreverence that will draw visitors?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentLaw blog round-up
March 24, 2008
Good morning!
- The Free State blogosphere is abuzz about proposals to install speed cameras around the state and ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving. What do you think?
- James Gross at the Maryland Divorce Legal Crier has his top 10 reasons why you don’t want to litigate your divorce. Family lawyers out there — do you have other reasons clients should stay away from a trial? When is litigation necessary?
- Carolyn Elefant writes that it’s easier for solo practitioners to go green. I can see how not having to wade through layers of bureaucracy would make it easier to, say, recycle or install low-energy light bulbs, but it’s also the case that when a big firm like, say, DLA Piper, commits itself to going green, there’s a much larger impact. What do you think? Any solos out there making a conscious effort to be more environmentally friendly in your practice?
- Jim Cotterman at Altman Weil weighs in on non-equity partners.
CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer
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