| Washington in brief
A small-business contracting bill that would do no harm to tribal and Alaska Native interests under the Small Business Administration's Native 8(a) contracting program passed the House of Representatives Oct. 30, and a Senate version progressed before the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Nov. 7. The Senate bill seeks to expand the pie for all small-business contractors, especially focusing on women and service-disabled veterans.
The program has been under a microscope for two years as Native 8(a) contracts have risen along with total 8(a) contracts.
Karen Atkinson, executive director of the Native American Contractors Association, said the prognosis is fairly good for getting a bill into law that would enhance minority business contracting generally.
The gospel according to Bambo
IS he really a good coach? Why has he not been accepted by the hierarchy at Dynamos? And will he stay long enough to achieve anything at CAPS United? Former Warriors captain Moses Chunga answers these questions and more in an EXCLUSIVE One-on-One interview with Deputy Sports Editor Lawrence Moyo.
Question: At the start of the year you left Dynamos, rejoined them and left again before the start of the Premiership season. What was going on?
Answer: It was a confused situation and I didn't see light at the end of the tunnel when I finally decided to leave.
It seemed some of the people who were supposed to make decisions did not know the importance of pre-season preparations at a time when other teams were already preparing for the new (2006) season.
SBA loans available to help businesses impacted by the drought
ATLANTA - Some help, in the form of low-interest loans, is on the way for businesses in Georgia adversely impacted by the drought. The Small Business Association l(SBA) loans are available because the SBA issued disaster declarations in several states affected by the drought. �We felt it was important to inform businesses such as landscapers, marinas, motels and others that are experiencing a loss of income due to the drought that they can apply for an economic injury disaster loan to help with their working capital needs,� said Frank Skaggs, Director of SBA Field Operations Center East. �Typically farm related businesses such as produce packagers, implement dealers and suppliers are aware of these disaster loans, but other types of small businesses may not realize they are eligible to apply.
EDC receives $109,000 grant for small business loans
Being a small business in Morgan County just got a little easier - if you need a little money, that is. On Tuesday the United States Dept. of Agriculture Rural Development awarded the Morgan County Economic Development Corp. a $109,000 grant to assist small businesses. The grant comes at a good time as small businesses in the county have had few alternative options to traditional bank financing, Robert White, USDA rural development state director said in a press release. The USDA Rural Business Enterprise grant will be used to establish a revolving loan fund to provide incentives for business expansion, job creation and private investment in the county's rural areas. Dean Edwards, director of business programs and cooperative services, and Mark Beckman, business program specialist at the USDA, presented the check Tuesday to John Taylor, executive director, and Jeff Pipkin, deputy director, of the EDC at Martinsville City Hall.
November 6, 2007
Last week, I commented that Stan ONeal, ex-CEO of Merrill Lynch, was paid for his performance when shown the exit door after Merrills $8.4-billion write-down. I received a number of emails commenting that I failed to address that he walked away with at least $159 million and was eligible for a severance package. The readers were incredulous that failure on the part of a CEO can translate into big paydays on the way out. This week, another shoe dropped with the retirement of Chuck Prince, Citibanks CEO, on the heels of an announcement that the bank will take an $11-billion write-down. He leaves with $105 million in cash and stock. By any measure, the losses revealed by Merrill and Citi are incomprehensible, but no more astounding than the payments to the guys on top who were, in fact, paid for their non- performance.
|
