| Starbucks gives an express course in espresso making
For 3 1/2 hours Tuesday evening, it was spring training Starbucks style. The coffee company -- for the first time in its history -- shut all of its U.S. stores to retrain employees on how to create a first-class espresso drink. "It's like baseball players," said Ann-Marie Kurtz, manager of global coffee and tea education for Starbucks Corp. "They practice all the time. This gives our baristas a chance to not be in front of customers and to slow down." The training of 135,000 baristas in nearly 7,100 company-operated stores is the latest effort by Chairman Howard Schultz to turn around a company facing intense competition and working to appeal to consumers wary of paying $4 for a cup of specialty joe in a challenging economy. The training didn't cover licensed shops in airports, malls, hotels and supermarkets.
TCC seeking bonds, tax hike
Tulsa Community College is asking the average Tulsa County home-owner to pay about $50 more a year to back a $76 million capital bond issue and finance a property tax increase of 1.7 mills.
The two requests will go before voters May 13.
"This is really about growth of the college," President Tom McKeon said.
Academic programs have waiting lists, the college needs more professors, and it needs more money for operations, he said. The extra income would go toward associate-degree programs that prepare students to immediately enter the work force.
TCC wants to accommodate a student body that has grown 18 percent in the past nine years and expand programs that prepare students for in-demand professions, such as health care, McKeon said.
Aggreko set to take advantage of South African power crisis
Aggreko stole a march on its competitors a couple of weeks ago when it flew in its Africa specialist Andy Walker to address the African Mining Industry Indaba (get-together) in Cape Town," commented one leading broker. "He warned of a looming power crisis and caught the attention of delegates representing more than 700 individual companies who now see the Scottish company as their first port of call." Chief executive Rupert Soames is to deliver an update on the South Africa position on Tuesday when he is due to reveal a buoyant set of annual figures as a result of strong demand from other developing nations in Asia and South America as well as Africa. Most analysts now believe annual pre-tax profits will show a near 50% increase to around £125.5 million and say that the group's Dubai-based International Power division will account for at least 60% of the total.
Zuda Comics takes comic books online and invites reader
Read. Vote. Create. That's the Zeitgeist of Zuda Comics, a new online DC Comics site that's putting adventurous comic creators on the same page - or, rather, screen - with comic readers interested in expanding their horizons beyond familiar superhero fare. Make that well beyond. Each month zudacomics.com invites those who may be weary of caped crusaders and wall crawlers to check out a genre-defying mix of 10 fresh comic stories by up-and-coming creators. Non registered users can read the comics. Registered users can vote for their favorite comics and add comments, sometimes creating dialogues between fans and creators. Each monthly winner receives a contract from Zuda to continue producing exclusive installments on the site for up to a year.
Not your average recipes from field, stream
When some people think of eating wild game, they instantly envision a misshapen slab of deer meat with jagged bones protruding from one side and bullet holes scarring the other. When they think of eating home-cooked fish, they visualize thickly breaded fillets floating in grease or soaking through a piece of white bread. .
Fitness firm stays agile
In the multibillion-dollar fitness industry, keeping health clubs and exercise facilities in good shape is an ongoing challenge.
Gyms and fitness clubs open and close every year. New methods of staying in shape come and go, burning out over time as fitness enthusiasts look to the next new facility or workout regimen for inspiration.
In the Tulsa area, a handful of clubs and centers facing financial problems and declining memberships have closed in the past few years. Yet one local entrepreneur -- with a knack for what it takes to compete -- has seen his fitness business stay on track and expand for almost 32 years.
Jim Benien's All American Fitness has held steady against an influx of out-of-state chains, huge family-oriented health centers and smaller specialty facilities since he founded his business in 1976.
The Surrender Lobby's Tet Offensive
General David Petraeus, letter to the troops December 28, 2007. It has been a bad year for al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the Jihadis' allies in America are feeling their pain. Speaking to The Politico January 17, John Isaacs, executive director of the misnamed Council for a Livable World, explained: "last year was not productive. Our expectations were dashed." The year 2007 began promisingly for the Democrats, who had taken control of the House and Senate after faking out voters with a squad of seemingly pro-military candidates. The "new" Democrats immediately showed their true colors, installing Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a pro-surrender member of the socialist "Progressive Caucus," as Speaker of the House. By May, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-MA, was pledging, "Those of us who oppose this war will be back again and again and again and again until this war has ended." But it didn't work out that way.
Hip-Hop Rumors: Khia's Beef With Janet? 50 Cent's Baby Moms LOST! Cee ...
If you live in New Orleans, today is your lucky day! Want to go to the Lil' Wayne Secret Show? I am going to offer you a lil bitty TREAT that will get you and a friend there, if you pass the test. I have a mere 10 passes for a resident of New Orleans (or staying in the surrounding areas for All-Star) to attend the Lil Wayne/Myspace Secret Show on Saturday.
All you have to do is tell me (illseed) what AllHipHop and I can do to serve you better (no comments about my typos, this much I know!). No more than 100 words please. Here are the stipulations and information:
The Lil Wayne/Myspace Secret Show event is at:
One Eyed Jacks 615 Toulouse St New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 569-8361
FREE! 21 and OVER Doors open @ 7:30 PM Feb 16, 2008 All-star weekend in New Orleans First come, First Served - but we can get you in no matter what.
Tax caps draw a third of Hammond Fire Department to Indy
INDIANAPOLIS | A throng of Hammond firefighters descended on the Statehouse on Monday in the hopes of heading off a financial emergency.The city stands to lose nearly a third of its budget, or about $21 million next year, if lawmakers press ahead with property tax caps sought by Gov. Mitch Daniels. So roughly a third of the Hammond Fire Department, or about 60 firefighters, came out to show legislators what's at stake.Dozens more public safety officials from across Indiana, including a handful of East Chicago firefighters and paramedics, formed a dense crowd outside the House Ways and Means Committee. Inside the hearing room, Hammond Fire Chief Dave Hamm warned legislators that the budget cuts triggered by the tax caps would cost lives."One thing that I can assure you is our response time will worsen, and there will be deaths," Hamm said.
How the internet went Radiohead gaga
Was it a brilliant business idea, a statement about ethical consumerism, or just a good old-fashioned publicity stunt? Mark Binelli talks to Radiohead, the band who made music history by releasing the first pay-what-you-like album online. Main photograph by Kevin Westenberg .
Cis' blog roundup - Friday
Sullivan, the site's visitor tally has fallen. Read more I don't really consider myself a "guest blogger" in this case, more of a caretaker, really, making sure the plants are watered and the fish are fed. I offered to help keep things at a slow idle when I saw that DFO was coming back to the blog multiple times a day while he was supposed to be on vacation. Nevertheless, this article is a very timely piece of perspective considering some of the problems we've had this week. Fortunately, this group has been, for the most part, very understanding and supportive in Dave's absence. According to the story, though, not all bloggers are quite so fortunate. Romenesko hasn't had a vacation in 7 years. That just ain't right. .
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