All about News Directors

Source: Houston Chronicle (Original Article)

CHANNING, Texas
— The century-old office building of a once-famous Texas Panhandle ranch will soon have a new home in Lubbock.

The XIT Ranch office, completed in 1899, was the site of financial transactions for what was the world’s largest range under fence. Two Chicago developers were given the 3 million-acre ranch when they agreed in the 1880s to build a new Capitol building in Austin for $3 million.

The building will be dismantled brick-by-brick and reconstructed at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, a process that will take up to eight months and could start by the end of April, said the building’s owner, Lenny Sadler of Amarillo.

The Lubbock center, dedicated to preserving the history of ranching and pioneer life, displays about 45 exhibits, including houses, a barn, windmills and an old train with Santa Fe Railway cars and a depot.

“The XIT was important to Texas history, so the building has strong ties not only to ranching but to Texas history in general,” said Jim Pfluger, the center’s executive director.

XIT used the office to liquidate assets and manage lands during the ranch’s heyday around the turn of the 20th century. The building was occupied until 1912, when the ranch sold the last of its cattle. At its peak, the ranch had about 150,000 head of cattle.

The building was in disrepair in 1982 when Bill and Patricia Kirkeminde bought it and started restoring it.

They were sticklers for accuracy. Not content with simply replacing hardware such as door hinges and knobs, they searched for companies that could make replicas, Patricia Kirkeminde said. She said they worked on the building off and on until they sold it to Sadler in 2005.

“We wanted a restoration, not a remodel,” she said. “No wonder it took us so long.”

Sadler said he decided to move the building out of Channing so more people could see it. Most travelers, he said, are headed to AMERICAN DRAGON dvd and from vacations in New Mexico …continue reading

Source: Seattle Times (Original Article)

After homeless people complained their survival gear had been destroyed while the city cleared out camps in greenbelts and parks, Seattle officials said Friday they would take a new approach to removing unauthorized encampments on public property.

Under an executive order Mayor Greg Nickels signed this week:

• The city will give 72 hours’ notice to people camping on public property before their tents and other belongings are removed.

• During that period, the city will dispatch outreach workers to connect homeless campers with services.

• The city will store people’s belongings for 60 days instead of immediately throwing them away. Homeless people complained they had lost their tents, personal identification, prescriptions and photos.

• The city will add 20 shelter beds, which will be available Monday.

“We worked hard to strike a balance — there’s a public-safety balance and a human-service balance,” said Patricia McInturff, the city’s director for human services. She added the city is continuing work on the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in King County.

Last month, homeless advocates protested the city’s clearing of camp sites by pitching tents overnight on the suite life of zack and cody dvd the steps of City Hall.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com

Source: Biloxi Sun Herald (Original Article)

HORSHAM, Pa., April 8, 2008 — The 6th Annual NY HR Week(TM)
Conference & Exposition continues to build significant momentum, attracting
record-breaking registrations from human resource executives and
practitioners. Taking place April 15 - 17, 2008, at the Hilton New York in New
York City, NY HR Week(TM) is the only business and HR conference that covers
all the major issues and trends in one highly focused and strategic forum.
Intended for attendees from private and publicly held companies, as well as
federal sector organizations of all sizes, NY HR Week(TM) delivers advice from
leading HR executives, industry analysts and vendors on the strategic and
operational challenges associated with HR.

Showcasing three one-of-a-kind conferences — HRO World(TM), HR & EEO in
the Federal Workplace(TM) and the inaugural HR in Healthcare(TM) event, plus a
two floor exposition and related special events — NY HR Week(TM) offers more
than 40 wide-ranging and topical sessions that deliver proven solutions to
tactical and strategic HR problems. Representatives from Accenture, Bloom &
Wallace, Boston Scientific, Ceridian, Federal Employment Law Training Group,
GRA Inc., Scripps Health, Lee Memorial Health System and Whirlpool, among many
others, will be on hand to discuss the latest creative strategies and
innovative products.

This year’s event features the new Special Interest Pavilions featuring
Thought Leaders. This groundbreaking event provides free expert advice to
attendees in the form of 30-minute personal consultations from top minds in
the field on Enterprise Human Resource Outsourcing and Recruitment Process
Outsourcing. Attendees availing themselves of this opportunity will also
receive a bonus gift only available at NY HR Week(TM): “Making HR Strategic
Through Alternative Delivery Models,” a comprehensive report from Human
Resource Executive(R) and EquaTerra, valued at $495.00.

Timothy McDonough, director easy sudoku of Human Resource Executive(R) conference
programs, …continue reading

Source: RedOrbit (Original Article)

Companies Pair Social Networking, DNA Testing
Posted on: Sunday, 6 April 2008, 06:00 CDT
When the paper trail that Raymond A. Winbush followed in search of his African roots ended at a slave-holding Kentucky plantation, he turned to a combination of modern technologies: genetic testing and online social networking. It worked. A DNA test traced his ancestry to tribes in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, while an online forum set up by the company that scanned his DNA put him in touch with other African-Americans who share similar genetic markers. "It’s like a electronic family reunion," said Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Affairs at Morgan State University. The online networking that he used marks a new — and potentially lucrative — frontier for genetic testing companies, which have witnessed the success of sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Although they don’t have much in common at first blush, genetic tests and online social networks both aim to connect people. Social networks use the World Wide Web to link the living, while genetic tests — employed here more out of curiosity than medical necessity — use DNA to tie the living to long-dead ancestors. The forum that put Winbush in touch with others who shared his heritage was a relatively simple networking program offered by African Ancestry, the Silver Spring company that scanned his DNA. Other DNA-testing companies, such as California-based 23andMe and Vancouver-based Genetrack Biolabs, offer more elaborate networking sites with multiple communication channels, including the sort of personal profiles, "friending" features and specialty groups pioneered by general-interest sites like Facebook and MySpace. "All of these companies are thinking of a social networking component — or what that would look like," said Duana Fullwiley, a medical anthropologist at Harvard University. Some sites, including African Ancestry and credit card au 23andMe, limit their social networking functions …continue reading

Source: Independent Online (Original Article)

Working as a cash-in-transit guard is the most dangerous job in South Africa. But this is about to change, as the police, cash management companies and the banking industry have put their heads together to root out the rot with remarkable results.

“It was way out of control,” said George Marais, CEO of Protea Coin. “But now we’ve sent out a message to these brazen robbers that we know exactly who they are and what their plans are.”

Protea’s heist figures have fallen a whopping 90 percent since last June because, says Marais, the company has started to listen to its clients and the public.

“We had to apply ourselves. We couldn’t wait for the government to do something. Too many people were dying. And not just our own people; bystanders were also getting killed or seriously hurt,” he said.

‘We couldn’t wait for the government to do something’Last May, a cash heist in central Joburg claimed the life of 15-month-old Khensani Mitileni, who was killed while strapped to her mother’s back.

In another heist last year in Limpopo, three SBV Security guards burnt to death when robbers doused their van with petrol and set it alight.

Days later the Federation of Unions of SA told Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi that cash-in-transit guards were “powerless against brazen gangs that kill with impunity”.

But now, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) has appointed a dedicated violent-crime team to lead the banking industry’s initiatives to reduce violent, organised crime.

The team is responsible for the development and implementation of industry crime prevention initiatives, providing project management and analytical and secretarial support to a number of inter-bank forums and committees.

‘the key to success is accurate and credible crime risk information’The team works closely with the MEDIUM dvd cash-in-transit industry and law enforcement agencies. …continue reading

Source: CNNMoney.com (Original Article)

U.S. stocks headed in mixed action to all-but certain weekly gains Friday,
as equities struggled after taking a pre-open hit in the form of data pointing
to the biggest job losses in five years.

“The market is reacting well to what two months ago would have been disastrous
news, but that may change after next week, when we get news from corporate
America and what they think for the rest of the year — we may see some estimate
guide-downs,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co.

After up-and-down moves in a 100-point trading range, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJI) was more recently off 13.84 points to 12,612.19, with 19 of its 30
components trading lower. General Motors Corp. (GM) led the losses, off 4%.

Blue-chip gains were led by United Technologies Corp. (UTX), up 1.3%, and
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), ahead 1.4%.

Financial stocks were among those to slide, with the Financial Select Sector
SPDR (XLF) down 1.4%. On the Dow, Citigroup Inc. (C) fell 2.5%, while J.P.
Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) shed 1.6%.

The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 2.03 points to 1,371.34, with the energy sector
fronting gains on the S&P, up 1.8%, followed by utility, ahead 1.6%.

Telecommunications declined the most, off 1.3, while the financial sector was
down 1.2%.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) climbed 5.47 points to 2,368.77.

Dealing with bad news

“It’s amazing how this market absorbs bad news since the Bear Stearns debacle,
” said Dave Rovelli, managing director of equity trading at brokerage Canaccord
Adams Inc.

“Everybody thinks we’re towards the end of the big write-downs. Let’s hope
there are no more hidden bombs out there,” said Rovelli.

Volume at the New York Stock Exchange neared 1.3 billion shares, while 701
million shares exchanged hands on the Nasdaq. Advancing stocks edged just past
those declining by an 8-to-1 count on the NYSE Cheap Domains while running just ahead of
decliners …continue reading