Sarah Palin launches online subscription channel

NEW YORK — Sarah Palin has started her own subscription-based online network.

The Sarah Palin Channel, which went live on Sunday, bills itself as a "direct connection" between the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate and her supporters, with "no need to please the powers-that-be," Palin says in a video mission statement on her channel's home page.

"Are you tired of the media filters?" she asks. "Well, I am. I always have been. So we're gonna do something about it."

"We'll talk about the issues that the mainstream media won't talk about," she adds.

Palin says she oversees all content posted to the channel. This will include her own political commentary. Other features for subscribers include the ability to submit questions to Palin and participate with her in online video chats.

Membership is set at $9.95 per month or $99.95 for a year.

Palin remains active elsewhere as a Fox News Channel contributor and reality-TV personality.

The Sarah Palin Channel is part of the TAPP video platform, which launched earlier this year.

___

Online:

https://sarahpalinchannel.com

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Car rates returning to levels before deregulation

BOSTON — Auto insurance rates that fell sharply after deregulation in Massachusetts are climbing again.

The Boston Globe (http://bit.ly/1rQTmdE ) reports that five years after the state began to allow insurers to set their own rates, the average premium was about the same as it was before the change.

According to figures from the state Division of Insurance, premiums dropped about 12 percent between 2007 and 2009 to a statewide average of $861, saving the average motorist about $122 per year.

By 2012, the average premium was back up to $974, only $9 less than what it was before deregulation. 2012 was the most recent year that statistics were available.

State officials say deregulation has helped consumers by offering more choice. The number of companies offering auto insurance in Massachusetts has nearly doubled.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Farmers hurt by Market Basket dispute

METHUEN, Mass. — The family feud that has led to empty shelves at the Market Basket stores is having an impact on local farmers who normally supply produce to the regional supermarket chain.

Rich Bonanno, whose family operates Pleasant Valley Gardens in Methuen, estimates he's losing $2,000 a day due to the ongoing revolt by store workers and customer boycott.

Bonanno tells the Eagle Tribune (http://bit.ly/UFhpPx ) that while he's been able to unload produce to other buyers, he's only earning about half of what he would normally take in from Market Basket.

John Simone, owner of Riverside Farm in Methuen, says he normally sells about 95 percent his produce to Market Basket.

The chain is embroiled in a Demoulas family dispute featuring two cousins who have been at odds for decades.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dollar Tree buying Family Dollar for $8.5 billion

NEW YORK — Dollar Tree is buying rival discount store Family Dollar in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $8.5 billion.

Stockholders of Family Dollar Stores will receive $59.60 in cash and the equivalent of $14.90 in shares of Dollar Tree for each share they own. The companies put the value of the transaction at $74.50 per share, which is an approximately 23 percent premium to Family Dollar's Friday closing price of $60.66.

The companies put the enterprise value of the deal, including debt and other costs, at more than $9 billion.

Family Dollar stockholders will own somewhere between 12.7 percent and 15.1 percent of Dollar Tree's outstanding common shares at closing. Shares spiked more than 24 percent and were headed for an all-time high before the opening bell Monday.

Shares of Dollar Tree neared an all-time high.

Core customers for bargain stores and major retailers like Wal-Mart have been among the hardest hit by the recession and its aftermath because of job instability.

Family Dollar has struggled and has attempted to reinvigorate sales by lowering prices on almost 1,000 basic items. It's cut some jobs and shuttered underperforming stores.

The company had been conducting a strategic review since the winter, and investor Carl Icahn urged Family Dollar last month to put itself up for sale. Icahn has built up a stake in the company of more than 9 percent, according to regulatory filings.

Dollar Tree CEO Bob Sasser said Monday that the deal will give Dollar Tree more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. That is nearly three times as many stores as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., though Wal-Mart's square footage is still greater.

The companies did not say if any Dollar Tree or Family Dollar stores would be closed.

The combined Dollar Tree-Family Dollar chain will have sales of more than $18 billion and Sasser says that the transaction will create a more diverse company with an enhanced geographic reach.

Dollar Tree stores sell products for $1 or less, while Family Dollar's pricing is much broader.

Dollar Tree will continue to operate under the existing Dollar Tree, Deals, and Dollar Tree Canada store signs. It will keep the Family Dollar brand as well.

Family Dollar Chairman and CEO Howard Levine will still lead those stores and report to Sasser. He will join Dollar Tree's board.

Dollar Tree plans to finance the deal with available cash, bank debt and bonds.

The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close by early next year. It still needs approval from Family Dollar shareholders.

Shares of Family Dollar Stores Inc., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, surged $14.89 to $75.55 in premarket trading. The record high during regular trading is $75.29. Shares of Dollar Tree Inc., based in Chesapeake, Virginia, jumped 10 percent, or $5.50 to $59.72. The all-time high for that stock is $60.19.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Virgin America files for IPO

NEW YORK — Virgin America's next destination is Wall Street.

The California-based airline filed on Monday for an initial public offering of shares.

Virgin America Inc., which operates out of Los Angeles and San Francisco, flies to 22 airports in the United States and Mexico and has a fleet of 53 planes. It is known for offering a variety of perks on its jets, including live TV, movies, leather seats and purple mood lighting.

The company, which was founded in 2004, licenses the Virgin brand name from the Virgin Group, founded by businessman Sir Richard Branson. The Virgin Group's parent company, VX Holdings, has a 22.1 percent stake in Virgin America, the company said it in its filing.

Virgin America posted its first annual profit last year, earning $10.1 million. It had revenue of $1.42 billion in 2013, up 6.9 percent from $1.33 billion the year before.

For the purpose of the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it could raise as much as $115 million, but that number is likely to change.

The company, which has its headquarters in Burlingame, California, did not say when it expects the IPO to happen, how many shares it plans to offer, how much each share will cost or which exchange they will trade on.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tire pressure sensors, aerosol inflators don’t mix

Last week I had a flat tire on my 2013 Buick Encore with only 4,500 miles on it. I got out my can of tire inflator and when I read the directions it said it could not be used on tires with pressure sensors in them. Is it because it would ruin the transmitter or because the sealant could not get into the tire? Could you use it in a real emergency? When I took the car to the dealer after putting on the spare, they said it was repairable and did so. I was told I was lucky because on all-wheel-drive vehicles you have to change all of the tires at the same time. I have never heard of this before — can you explain?

The primary ingredients in most emergency tire inflator/"fix-a-flat" aerosol products are a liquefied propellant like non-flammable HFC-134a — the refrigerant used in air conditioning systems — and a latex polymer to seal the inside of the tire. Some earlier products utilized flammable propellants, which created a danger for the service personnel repairing the tires.

The reason these products are not recommended for use in tires fitted with tire pressure sensors (TPS) is that the latex sealer may coat and interfere with the signal transmitted from the TPS, although this potential issue is still being hotly debated. What is absolutely true is that the latex sealer will have to be thoroughly cleaned from the inside of the tire, wheel and TPS. In addition, there is a potential issue with corrosion and delamination of chrome from the inside surfaces of a chrome alloy wheel.

Regardless, it is important to remember that these products are, at best, a very short-term, temporary "fix." The tire must be cleaned and repaired — if possible — at the earliest possible time.

Should you use an aerosol tire inflator in an "emergency" situation such as being stopped in a dangerous scenario or situation where taking the time to mount the spare tire would add to the risk? I would. If the fix-a-flat product will inflate and maintain enough tire pressure to allow me to drive to a safe location, I would certainly use it.

But I'd make absolutely sure to tell the service agency that you used a tire inflator and have the tire repaired or replaced as soon as possible.

The reason for suggesting that all four tires must be replaced at the same time is because four-wheel or all-wheel-drive vehicles must have all four tires with the same rolling circumference or potential damage to the drivetrain can occur. As long as the single replacement tire is virtually the same rolling circumference as the other three tires, no problem.

I have a '96 Chrysler Concorde with 94,000 miles. The needle on the gas gauge is not functioning right. At times it is normal, but at other times the warning light goes on and the needle fluctuates. Is this a big job to repair? I can keep track of the mileage with the odometer so I don't run out of gas.

The position of the needle on the gas gauge of your vehicle is controlled by the body control module (BCM). The BCM receives a signal from the variable resistor in the sending unit in the fuel tank, compares this with the fuel tank ground and moves the needle to the correct position on the gauge.

The intermittent issue with your gauge may well be the variable resistor/sending unit in the fuel tank, which is a significant repair, or maybe just a poor ground for the variable resistor which is located in the left kick panel. With the age of the vehicle, I'd make sure this ground connection wasn't the problem first.

Also, remember that the LED light in the gauge will also illuminate if engine temperatures reach the 240-260-degree range.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paul brand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shaw’s seizing opportunity to change impressions

Shaw's Supermarkets is getting an unexpected chance to showcase the progress of turnaround efforts initiated since new owners took over the West Bridgewater-based chain last year.

It's among the regional grocery chains benefiting from the turmoil at Market Basket that has left shelves bare at the Tewksbury company's 71 stores and boycotting customers shopping elsewhere.

A Cerberus Capital Management-led investor group acquired Shaw's — often criticized by customers in the past for its high prices — from Supervalu Inc. last year as part of a larger $3.3 billion deal.

"They've been running those stores better, including better pricing and promotions than when it was owned by Supervalu," said grocery analyst Andrew Wolf of BB&T Capital Markets in Boston. "Most shoppers don't know that because they haven't been to Shaw's in a long time. This action is going to force a certain amount of people to go to Shaw's, and they're going to discover, 'Hey, it's a little better than I remember.' "

Customers boycotting Market Basket — in solidarity with an employee push to pressure its board to reinstate fired CEO Arthur T. Demoulas — have been taping their grocery receipts from competing supermarkets on Market Basket doors.

"We've definitely seen an up-tick in the number of customers," Shaw's spokesman Jeff Gulko said. "It started initially the tail-end of last week, but the first real noticeable bump-up was Monday going into Tuesday, and it's remained since. (Our) 18,500 associates are working around the clock to make sure that we have the products on our shelves that folks come to get — whether they're our shoppers or folks that are coming to our stores for the first time."

The company's two distribution centers, in Methuen and Maine, have adjusted, adding shipments and trucks, he said.

Hannaford, Stop & Shop and Wegmans declined comment on any business boost that they're seeing as a result of Market Basket's employee uprising.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

BuzzFeed reporter fired in wake of plagiarism allegations

BuzzFeed has dismissed a journalist after a social media outcry sparked a review of his work, and editors discovered at least 41 of his articles contained instances of plagiarism.

In a statement posted Friday, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith said dozens of articles penned by reporter Benny Johnson contained "instances of sentences or phrases copied word for word other sites."

"We owe you, our readers, an apology. This plagiarism is a breach of our fundamental responsibility to be honest with you — in this case, about who wrote the words on our site," Smith wrote. "Plagiarism, much less copying unchecked facts from Wikipedia or other sources, is an act of disrespect to the reader. We are deeply embarrassed and sorry to have misled you."

The review started after a series of articles on the blog Our Bad Media uncovered more than a dozen instances in which Johnson appeared to have copied and pasted sentences from other news outlets.

BuzzFeed also published a list of articles by Johnson, who largely wrote about politics, that contained instances of uncredited content taken from other sources.

They included a story explaining the Egyptian Revolution by way of images from the film "Jurassic Park," and a story about famous manhunts, including the pursuit of former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner in 2013.

Information was copied directly from Wikipedia, The New York Times, Associated Press, The New Yorker and the autobiography of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, according to editors' notes accompanying the articles in question.

Johnson posted an apology on his Twitter account on Saturday.

"To the writers who were not properly attributed and anyone who ever read my byline, I am sincerely sorry," the tweet read.

A spokeswoman for BuzzFeed told the Los Angeles Times that Johnson began working for the web site in 2013, but declined to say if the plagiarism incident would alter the web site's editorial standards in any way.

Launched in 2006, BuzzFeed is best known for its popular "listicles," articles that often contain short bursts of tongue-in-cheek text accompanied by pictures, gifs, or memes that outline a particular topic. An article titled "28 Things That Are More Useful Than Mascara" ran near the top of the page Saturday afternoon.

But the web site began hiring more established journalists in recent years, including Smith, a longtime political columnist who previously wrote for Politico. Earlier this week, the web site published a deeply researched and lengthy feature about the culture of TMZ and its founder, Harvey Levin.

Smith acknowledged BuzzFeed's humble beginnings in the statement, but said as the web site transforms into a more serious news outlet, it must hold its staff's work to a higher threshold.

"Today, we are one of the largest news and entertainment sites on the web. On the journalistic side, we have scores of aggressive reporters around the United States and the world, holding the people we cover to high standards," Smith wrote. "We must — and we will — hold ourselves to the same high standards."

Donna Shaw, coordinator of the journalism program at The College of New Jersey and a former longtime reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, said she believes the fact that Johnson was caught highlights one of the positives of the era of online journalism.

"This is what comes of living in an age when not only everybody can be a journalist, but everybody can be an editor," Shaw said. "When I was a young journalist, it was very difficult to get caught."

———

©2014 Los Angeles Times

Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

_____

Topics: t000003086,t000012820,t000043897,t000002537,t000040350,t000002669,t000033770,g000362661,g000066164

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Helping veterans connect to companies

A coalition of Bay State companies, advocates and veterans is aiming to help vets translate skills they already have to the offices of tech companies.

"The goal is to help employers connect more effectively with a growing number of veterans who are reentering the workforce," said Chris Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council and one of the leaders of New England Tech Vets. "No matter what a veteran did in the military, there is an equitable civilian skill."

The military has long been on the forefront of emerging technologies, so many vets have technical skills from flying drones, or operating sophisticated weapons.

And as the country's wars continue to wind down, roughly 1 million servicemen and women will leave active duty and enter the workforce, according to some estimates, but the unemployment rate for veterans remains high. Overall, the rate is 6.6 percent for vets of all wars — but 9 percent for veterans of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Major Bob Kinder, an Army Ranger who served on active duty for 20 years, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, said it took him a long time to find a job.

"It's not a piece of cake," Kinder said. "I have finally landed in a job just this week. It took me nine months."

He said the transition back to civilian life is hard for many vets, and a job can make a world of difference — far beyond a paycheck.

"They're leaving a very insular, cohesive society with a unique culture," he said. "One of the things to help form a community is a good job. It gives them a sense of purpose."

Kinder now works for G2 Capital Advisors.

One of the challenges many vets face is the struggle of describing the skills they have developed in the military, said Susan Fallon, who helps run the Tech Vets program for job site Monster.com.

"People out here in the business community, they speak a different language," Kinder agreed.

To address that, Tech Vets automatically converts a military job title to incorporate its standard requirements — which are often valuable in the civilian workforce. For example, an "infantryman" entry will automatically include skills such as advanced first aid and knowledge of blueprints and technical diagrams.

"An individual may not even know they have (certain) skills, but they've been doing that their whole career," said Ted Wadsworth, also of Monster.com.

Then there are the character attributes that employers may find even more valuable in a new employee: for many, a military background translates to a strong work ethic and discipline.

"Those intangibles," Kinder said, "are much more difficult to train."

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Startup’s videos find suitable employees

A few years ago, when Rob Hunter owned ice cream stores and one of his greatest challenges was finding good employees, he had an epiphany one day when a girl whose only experience was babysitting and playing soccer dropped off a resume replete with spelling and grammatical errors.

"I would not have hired her based on her resume, but she had a wonderful personality and turned out to be the best employee I ever had," Hunter said. "I've hired 300 people in all and interviewed 600 to 700. And each time, I know pretty much in the first 30 seconds whether they're going to be a good fit."

What if, he thought, employers in retail — where an engaging and professional demeanor is all-important — could have a preview of an applicant's personality without having to wade through reams of applications and spend hours interviewing the wrong people?

Last March, Hunter and Evan Lodge — both Babson College MBA students at the time — founded HigherMe, a website and mobile app, expected to launch this fall, that allows job applicants to answer a series of questions posed by an employer, such as which hours they'd be available to work, what pay they'd expect, and what they would do if a customer were dissatisfied. Afterward, applicants have the option to make a 30-second video on their cellphone or webcam, explaining why they'd be the best person for the job.

HigherMe, a finalist in the MassChallenge startup accelerator and competition, then sends the employer a list of applicants ranked according to whether their answers matched the ones the employer was seeking, and the employer decides which applicants to interview,

For access to the company's database of candidates and screening software, Hunter, Lodge and their co-founder, Josh Stevens, expect to charge employers a monthly subscription fee of between $40 and $200 per store, depending on the number of applicants they want to contact and hire.

Alex Lowe, owner of Artis Coffee in Berkeley, Calif., and a former classmate of Hunter's who recently agreed to test the service, asked questions like, "What superhero would you be, and why?" ("If the applicant has fun with it, they'll probably be better at customer service," Lowe said.) He also asked, "Where do you see yourself in three months? In three years?"

"We want people who have a vision for their life, whether they'll be with us as a steppingstone or as a career," Lowe said. "It's given me a whole lot more depth into whether the person would be a cultural fit, rather than just: Can they make a cup of coffee?"

Brianna D'Amerosio, 24, of Methuen was looking for a waitressing job on Craigslist last week when she came across one at an Andover restaurant that asked applicants to use HigherMe to send in a video.

"Before I had a chance to answer any of the questions, I got an email saying they'd received my video and asking me to come in for an interview," D'Amerosio said. "For years, I've missed out on opportunities because there was nothing about me that really stood out on paper. So even if I don't get this job, I love the idea of being able to send someone something that will give them a glimpse into my personality."

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More