Authorities say an illegal immigrant was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was attacked with rocks in southern Arizona.
Border Patrol spokesman Omar Candelaria says the shooting occurred Monday after the agent and his dog encountered the man in an area known as "D" Hill just outside Douglas.
Authorities say the …
Trustee Scott Berg won a four-way race for village president ofLake in the Hills Tuesday, capturing 45 percent of the vote.
Berg, an electrical contractor, was trailed by Trustee JimKennedy, with 31 percent, Helen Jost, a former trustee, with 19percent and Michael Gluth, a newcomer to village politics, 4 percent.
"The voters have chosen someone who wants to represent them,"Berg said. Berg said he would set up a long-term plan for growthand promised a smooth transition to a new administration.Three new trustees also were elected: Paul Mulcahy, RobertSpooner and Leslie Ann Signa.The issues of airport expansion and a two-year term for villageboard members …
SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped nearly 29 percent on stronger sales of its coffee in its cafes and at other retailers.
The company, based in Seattle, reported Thursday that it earned $358.5 million, or 47 cents per share. That's up from $278.9 million, or 37 cents per share, last year. After adjusting for one-time gains and an extra week in the prior quarter, the company earned 37 cents compared with 32 cents last year.
Revenue rose 7 percent to $3 billion, with some benefit from foreign exchange rates. Revenue jumped 15 percent after adjusting for the extra week last year.
The results beat Wall Street's expectations and shares jumped …
China has overtaken the United States as the world's largest energy consumer, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday. China immediately questioned the report, claiming its calculations were "unreliable."
The Paris-based agency said China's 2009 consumption of energy sources ranging from oil and coal to wind and solar power was equal to 2.265 billion tons of oil, compared to 2.169 billion tons used that year by the United States.
The shift is historic, coming years ahead of forecasts. In climate change talks, China has long pointed fingers at the energy consumption patterns of developed nations and is sure to feel uncomfortable with the …
ANAHEIM, Calif. Fantasyland - OK, Disneyland - is just down thestreet. So this would seem to be the appropriate setting for thebaseball winter meetings, where wish lists usually get detoured intothe land of reality.
It is hard to gauge what a few days in the California sunshinewill bring, but it will not produce the gold rush of last December,when the Los Angeles Dodgers spent $105 million on pitcher KevinBrown.
In the past, the winter meetings have been flesh markets for freeagents. But the paltry crop of available players this offseason wouldbe hard-pressed to find roles in B movies.
Opinions vary about what will happen during the next few days,from …
Founded as Black Women in Publishings 25 years ago, Black Americans in Publishing (BAIP) supports the advancement of black professionals employed in the industry and nurtures those seeking entry. The founders (see listing at left, below picture) were imaginative black women who bonded in the late 1970s to get their due in all sectors a vibrant but exclusionary industry. In 1979, these pacesetters entered pathways to upward mobility in publishing marked "White Males Only," but they persisted in forging ahead and built a ladder for those wishing to follow in their footsteps.
Today too few blacks in the industry reap the financial or career benefits of the increasing black consumer …
The mother of the world's longest-living octuplets is being deluged with offers for book deals, TV shows and other business proposals, but has not decided what she might do other than care for her children, her newly hired spokeswoman said Monday.
Hundreds of requests have been made since Nadya Suleman gave birth to six boys and two girls a week ago, said Joann Killeen, president of Killeen Furtney Group, a public relations company.
"She's the most sought after mom in the world right now," Killeen said. "Everyone wants to talk to her."
But Suleman, who remained hospitalized with her children Monday at Kaiser Permanente's …
DENVER - The San Diego Padres were relying on ace Jake Peavy to lift them into the playoffs, but the 19-game winner struggled early and often as the Colorado Rockies led the Padres 6-5 after six innings in the NL wild card playoff on Monday night.
The winner heads to Philadelphia for Wednesday's Division Series opener against the resurgent Phillies, who came back from a 7-game deficit in September to overtake the New York Mets and win their first NL East title since 1993.
Peavy allowed two runs in the first inning and gave up a solo home run to light-hitting Yorvit Torrealba to lead off the second and another solo shot to Todd Helton in the third.
The …
The four cities bidding for the 2016 Olympics took their case directly to the voters on Wednesday, stressing the backing of their government leaders and promising financial security for their multi-billion-dollar projects.
Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro made formal presentations to members of the International Olympic Committee in a crucial test before the final vote in Copenhagen on Oct. 2.
The closed-door sessions at the Olympic Museum were attended by 93 of the IOC's 107 members _ a strong turnout showing intense interest in what shapes up as a tight race between candidates from four continents.
At a time of global recession, budget …
NEW YORK Stocks were higher today as worries eased about interestrates, the Treasury's refunding auctions and this week's data oninflation.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.00 points to close at3,766.76.
Volume on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange was 279.6million shares. Advancing shares outnumbered declines on the NYSE,with 1,190 up, 933 down and 707 unchanged.
Statistics on July inflation and retail sales are due out onThursday and Friday.
Analysts expect those readings will determine whether or not theFed nudges interest rates higher for the fifth time this year whenits policy setting Federal Open Market Committee meets next …
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has postponed a meeting with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders to Nov. 30 after top Republicans said they had a scheduling conflict.
The meeting, originally scheduled for Thursday, will mark be the first time President Barack Obama will sit down with Congress' new bipartisan leaders since the Nov. 2 elections that cost Democrats control of the House of Representatives and shrank the Democratic majority in the Senate.
In the wake of a bitter election campaign, the session could presage cooperation or friction between Obama and House speaker-in-waiting John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
White House and …
PARIS (AP) — French Senate approves raising retirement age to 62 after protracted debate and mass protests.
Kenya's foreign minister says fighters from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are relocating to what he called a "safehaven" in the failed state of Somalia.
Moses M. Wetangula tells The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that countries in East Africa are more vulnerable to terrorist attack because of an increase in Somalia's militant activity.
The foreign minister says intelligence reports show that Afghans, Pakistanis and fighters from Middle Eastern countries have joined Somali militants.
Wetangula says he can't quantify the number of fighters but that there are enough to worry the international community.
Wetangula also said he does not believe the United States is doing enough to help the Somali situation.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A Chinese-owned oil company said Wednesday it was suspending production in a southern Colombian region with a strong rebel presence where four Chinese contractors were kidnapped in June.
Emerald Energy Plc spokesman Carlos Bolanos said without elaboration that the suspension owed to "security problems." Responding to emailed questions, he did not say when production might resume.
The leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, abducted the contractors on June 8 as they were on their way to the field in the Caqueta state municipality of Los Pozos. Bolanos said authorities had reported nothing new about the four since their abduction.
The London-based company, a subsidiary of China's Sinochem Group, said its other operations in Colombia are not involved.
The daily production of the affected 12-well field is 600 barrels, said Energy Minister Mauricio Cardenas, less than one-tenth of the company's total output in Colombia.
Cardenas told reporters that Emerald Energy had no plans to leave Colombia, as some local media reports had suggested.
He insisted the state would offer it protection.
"The Colombian state is fully capable of offering security to each and every company operating in the sector," Cardenas said.
Colombia's total production is about 900,000 barrels a day, split between state-owned Ecopetrol and dozens of foreign companies. And while its been growing recently amid improved security, rebel activity has been on the rise in several regions, including Caqueta.
Los Pozos is in a traditional FARC stronghold and was the venue for failed 1998-2002 peace talks the rebels held with Colombia's government.
Two months after the contractors' kidnapping, three oil trucks contracted by Emerald were set on fire in the region and three more sabotaged. Authorities blamed the FARC.
In the eastern state of Vichada, 20 Colombian employees of the Canadian oil company Talisman were seized by the FARC then released several hours later because soldiers were in hot pursuit, military officials said.
A third oil company, Toronto-based Pacific Rubiales Energy, has been plagued by labor unrest apparently unrelated to the troubles of the other two companies and has had to twice suspend operations at Colombia's biggest oil field.
President Juan Manuel Santos' government has said it hopes to surpass 1 million barrels a day in oil production by year's end.
The president of Colombia's Oil Association, Alejandro Martinez, which represents 55 mostly foreign-owned private companies, said the suspension by Emerald Energy was "a bad sign."
"There have been some terrorist acts against the sector recently, during this year," he told The Associated Press. "It's something that has created concern in the national government."
After an aggressive move to acquire sorting facilities around the country over the last two years, Weyerhaeuser recently announced that it is restructuring its recycling business. "Recycling remains a core business, but we must make some adjustments to our nationwide system to meet the needs of internal and external customers in an increasingly competitive marketplace. This will require us to close, consolidate or dispose of selected recycling assets," according to John W. Creighton, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Weyerhaeuser.
Weyerhaeuser Company is one of the largest integrated forest products companies in the world. Its principal segments are timberlands and wood products; pulp, paper and packaging; and real estate. It is also one of North America's largest producers of forest products and recyclers of mixed paper, newspaper and corrugated boxes.
Because of its rapid expansion in recycling, the company now has about 40 sorting facilities in the U.S. The drop in paper prices, along with the fact that some of its acquisitions caused it to have excess capacity in some markets, have prompted Weyerhaeuser to reexamine the need for all of those facilities.
Bring in the posse! When the board needs an expert in corporate strategy, this cadre of consulting firms has the tools and experience to negotiate just about any terrain.
THE FRONTIER IS OPEN:
Where do you want to go? That's the first question the principals in a strategic consulting firm are likely to pose to your board when their services are engaged. The answers today can be diverse: an acquisition, a product line development, a structural overhaul, or perhaps higher returns. In any case, once the direction for the bank is determined, the consulting firm can help chart a course to fulfill the bank's desire to maximize shareholder value and sustain its viability.
Bank Director's posse of consultants includes eight firms: four known for their work with large financial institutions and four that have carved out their place working with community banks. In the profiles that follow, we've tried to highlight each firms style and expertise to help boards that are looking for a strategic partner with the right cultural fit.
Alex Sheshunoff Management Services L.P.
Headquarters: Austin, Texas
Key contact: Alex Sheshunoff, president
Number of offices: 1
Years in business: 25
Specialties: profit management, risk management, executive education, technology, CRM, Investment banking
White: www.ashes.com
Alex Sheshunoff calls it "intelligence from the front." Every year, Alex Sheshunoff Management Associates runs a CEO affiliation program in which CEOs from 600 institutions meet twice a year for three days in groups of 20 and talk about what they're doing. They discuss the greatest challenges facing their institutions-what's working or what isn't.
The breadth of information they collect gives the strategic planning consultants at Sheshunoff an edge in helping clients-which currently number more than 1,250-with their strategic planning efforts.
"I think that a lot of banks might be able to do this themselves, but we offer a broad perspective on what's going on in the industry. We're not just focused on a specific aspect. The CEO is focused on running his bank. So it can be difficult for the CEO to facilitate the plan," says Sheshunoff Regional Manager Geri Forehand.
In helping banks sort through their options, Sheshunoff's consultants look at four business disciplines: technology and operations; human resources; sales, service, and marketing; and financial.
The board and senior management set the course for the bank, and senior management develops an action plan. But sometimes, that's as far as it goes. Says Sheshunoff: "Because of the importance regulators place on planning today, banks place a greater emphasis on planning and a lesser emphasis on implementation.'
Sheshunoff, though, isn't content with a "beautifully bound" plan. He wants the bank to see results.After the plan is drafted, Sheshunoff consultants have each member of the board sign off on it to seal the commitment, according to Forehand. This is especially useful when political factions have erupted among management or the board.
"There are some people out there who just want to circle and never land," Sheshunoff says. "Everybody can be good at planning, but some never want to put it into place because that can be scary."
Sheshunoff consultants follow up to find out what level of acceptance has been reached after the action plan has been created with specific timelines and responsibilities.
"They're not accountable to us, but we assist them. We don't expect the board to review all their actions but rather to make sure that there is a monitoring process that goes on," Forehand explains.
At the end of the day, a bank that is executing on a well-- conceived plan is in a much better position to choose its destiny-whether that means staying independent or partnering with another institution. It's also in a better position to deal with a burning issue for many institutions these days: management succession.
"That's something 45-year-old executives really want to talk about," says Forehand.
Austin Associates LLC
Headquarters: Toledo, Ohio
Key contacts: R. Hal Nichols, chairman; Craig J. Mancinotti, principal; Richard F. Maroney, Jr., principal; Robert J. Morgan, principal
Number of offices: 1
Years in business: 30
Specialties: Investment banking and consulting; financial management
Website: www.austinassociates.com
When Austin Associates undergoes the task of helping with a bank's strategic planning, it puts in a lot of hours on the front end to analyze the institution. Every planning engagement, says CEO Hal Nichols, is unique. And Austin Associates, launched in the late 1980s when several executives purchased the company from consultant Douglas Austin, prides itself on customizing its services to the needs of its clients. Today, the Toledo-based firm provides a wide range of consulting services and specialized investment banking expertise to financial institutions primarily in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. Developing a niche and getting to know its clients has helped Austin stay successful. "It's important for us to understand who the players are," says Nichols. "A dominant personality can drive the direction the company is going." Before setting up a meeting, Austin consultants send out written questionnaires and conduct phone and onsite interviews. They review the bank's last strategic plan. They try to understand the bank's strengths and weaknesses and how risk tolerant the institution and its directors are.
The board members identify the bank's strong points and needs from their viewpoints and help the process by defining acceptable performance and shareholder value. Later the board helps monitor progress through quarterly reports by management.
It's also the job of the consultants to size up the job-to ascertain if they are actually going to be conducting a planning meeting or if the engagement will result in an sort of arbitration meeting, as it sometimes does.
"There are times where you know you are going in and there are differences of opinion about a sensitive issue where you almost play an arbitrator role," says Craig Mancinotti, managing director and principal. For example, he says, "We had one planning project where the entire meeting came down to whether the board thought there should be a mandatory retirement age."
Banks' approaches to strategic planning can widely vary. One may be content to conclude the process with a summary memo listing the three or four most important issues with broad objectives for growth and profitability. Others want a comprehensive, detailed action plan.
"Banks that have never done planning in the past want to start small and walk before they run" says Nichols. "If this is beneficial and management buys into it, they'll go into more detail."
Management succession is one of the hottest issues of the day and one that many banks have a difficult time tackling without an outside perspective, according to Nichols. In the past, he says, a lot of banks had strategic questions about technology. Now most community banks are more interested in stable growth and an increase in earnings.
To conclude the strategic session, consultants will use a baseline forecast based on the bank's historical growth and earnings and then create a new forecast using the results of the planning meeting. It provides the bank executives and directors with a clear picture of what the institution is trying to accomplish and why.
Says Mancinotti,"Community banks that have survived in last 12 years have a real clear picture of what they want to be."
Booz Allen Hamilton
Headquarters: McLean, Virginia
Key contact: Paul Kocourek, managing director, financial services practice
Number of offices: 110
Years in business: 88
Revenues: $2.1 billion (fiscal-year 2002 ended 3/31/02)
Specialties: strategy; organization and strategic leadership; operations; information technology; technology management; and e-business strategy and implementation.
Website: www.bah.com
With offices in six continents, Booz Allen Hamilton bills itself as a global leader in management and technology consulting, providing services to major international corporations via a staff of 11,000. Founded in 1914, the private corporation is headquartered in McLean,Virginia, and at its helm is chairman and chief executive officer Ralph W. Shrader. The firm's financial services practice is headquartered in New York City.
Booz Allen has deployed its industry-specific knowledge in banking and capital markets to advise large financial institutions worldwide in a variety of strategic situations. On the wholesale banking front, Booz Allen has examined critical success factors in more than 30 wholesale banks that offer clients electronic banking. In one recent case, the firm has analyzed the potential impact of multimedia applications, such as just-in-time banking, for a major German bank.
In the consulting business, Booz Allen's management firmly believes creativity is a necessary factor. For its retail banking clients, the firm has created a cost model for Internet retail banking services based on using a bottom-- up approach to compute cost per transaction for various transaction types. It also designed a retail banking architecture for a Latin American banking institution and helped define a long-term strategic plan for one of Korea's top three conglomerates. Booz Allen does not take a cookie-cutter approach-it uses its experience to ferret out what will be most useful to each client's needs.
Booz Allen's financial services executives say that three critical questions underscore the strategic consultation process. These are: Where are the opportunities? What are the pitfalls? How do we keep our mission clearly in focus and deliver on it? In the retail and commercial banking arenas, ascertaining the answers to such questions helps Booz Allen reach its goal to help clients align business models as closely as possible to their customers' needs so the banks can create value for shareholders.
Darling Consulting Group Inc.
Headquarters: Newburyport, Massachusetts
Key contact: George K. Darling, CEO
Number of offices: 1
Years in business: 27
Specialties: strategic planning, balance sheet management, education, asset/lIability management
Website: www.darlingconsulting.com
George Darling honed his methods in the 1960s when he worked for IBM, helping its bank clients develop strategies and apply technology solutions. He plied these same skills when he implemented strategic planning solutions for Cooper's & Lybrand's New England bank clients. So it was a natural turn when he created Darling & Associates, the forerunner of Darling Consulting Group, in 1976. Today, Darling's core business is working with banks to increase their earnings through balance sheet management. Darling Consulting's clients range in asset size from $20 million to more than $20 billion and are located throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Pacific Rim.
Like many other strategic planning consultants, Darling begins by taking stock of the institution from the outside, immersing himself in information about the bank and its market. He meets with senior management and the board to craft a mission and vision statement for the bank that will hold for the next three to five years. This is vital, he says, because "you've got to decide: How do you want to be viewed by stockholders, customers, employees, the community, and regulators?"
Darling says brings bank management into the process by allowing them to develop the objectives within which the overall mission is to be accomplished. The bank looks at competitors and assesses its own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in light of these stated objectives. For example, he says, "if you want a return equal to nothing less than 15% as an objective, how much can you spend on employees? How much can you spend on annual growth?"
The board of directors sets the vision for the bank, Darling says, but management should have the responsibility to assign specific tasks and plans of action. Over time, Darling monitors progress with strategic planning clients by making quarterly visits to the company. This often entails prodding managers about their "to do" lists and asking tough questions when an objective hasn't been met.
These days, Darling says he sees two issues continually top the list of board concerns: the quality of senior management and whether it's the right time to find an ownership partner. Good strategic planning can help the board cope with these issues by making the institutions priorities clear. "The longer you go through the planning process, reaffirm the mission, culture, make little tweaks as you need them, then two or three years into it you get to the real philosophical issues and hard-core problems," Darling says.
First Manhattan Consulting Group
Headquarters: New York City
Key contact: James M. McCormick, president
Number of offices: 1
Years in business: 20
Revenues: not disclosed
Specialties: commercial and retail banking, mortgage banking, finance, insurance, brokerage, and other diversified financial services consultation
Website: www.fmcg.com
With more than 20 years of experience, First Manhattan Consulting Group is a firm with a proven track record in serving financial institutions on a wide range of top-management issues. An overriding goal and mission of the company is increasing its clients' shareholder value. Since 1980, First Manhattan Consulting has completed more than 2,500 assignments, including work for 80% of the 70 largest U.S. bank holding companies; major multiline and monoline insurance carriers; major international banks from 22 countries; and many regional and national brokerage firms. Its principals have advised major finance companies, guarantee companies, and diversified financial firms as well as several financial services vendors.
Headquartered in New York, First Manhattan's command center is lead by the watchful eye of its president and founder, James M. McCormick. According to the firm's executives, First Manhattan's mix of strategy, finance, tech. nology, and productivity skills has allowed it to discover new insights into the drivers of shareholder value-one of the chief reasons its clients come for help. Along the way it has also developed benchmarks for key lines of business, including perspectives on achievable return on equity and growth; designed new approaches to calculate capital adequacy and capital allocation; and documented and implemented best practices for post-merger consolidation and bankwide productivity programs.
In the financial institutions arena, the privately he! firm boasts expertise in all of the significant lines of business operated by commercial banks, ranging from commercial and retail banking to mortgages and finance. And its clients keep coming back-over three-quarters of First Manhattan's workload typically consists of projects requested by existing clients of the firm. First Manhattan has served at least 50 client institutions more than 10 times and several institutions more than 100 times.
McCormick says the firm's approach is distinctive in several respects. First, he says, the firm's specialization in financial services enables First Manhattan to relate to the unique needs of banking-related businesses. Second, all of the firm's recommendations are driven by a focus on maximizing clients' shareholder value. Third, McCormick says, First Manhattan has proven management skills that are useful to clients on a broad range of initiatives related to growth and diversification strategies, merger planning and integration, expense control, and line-of-business management-all top-of-mind issues for bank boards today. It's safe to say, with qualifications like these, First Manhattan won't be disappearing anytime soon.
"The new focus is on managing customer value to increase shareholder value," Gillis contends. "Shareholder value contribution is extremely concentrated by customer-those institutions that are able to identify and focus resources on the profitable customers will win. Ultimately, the goal is to increase share of wallet of profitable customers versus increasing the number of customers indiscriminately," Gillis adds.
Booz Allen Hamilton financial institutions group consultants stress that while many positive strategic mindset changes are occurring, the process is evolutionary.
"In the retail and commercial banking place, we're seeing more of an emphasis on how to align organizational business models as close as possible to the customer to create shareholder value," says Chris Dallas-Feeney, a Booz Allen Hamilton vice president.
In the post-Enron era, accuracy also has commanded greater attention, according to Dallas-Feeney. "From a governance standpoint, there's a dawning among directors that perhaps they have to be more involved in influencing organizational strategy and debate beyond designated meetings. In other instances, board members are realizing that they have a long way to go to get into more of the specifics of the customer equation. I think we're seeing a sorting out of boundaries of jurisdiction among directors."
While acquisition activity has slowed within the industry in the past year, Dallas-Feeney says that there is more scrutiny regarding justification and what type of institution a bank may consider as a potential acquisition candidate.
"Strategically, there is much more focus on knowing who you are dealing with and specific expectations before making a commitment," Dallas-Feeney states. Booz Allen Hamilton vice presidents Atul Kamra and Paul Hyde add that while the past decade has seen a focus on customer acquisition, customer penetration is gaining ground.
"There's been a skepticism about growth via acquisition and so now those in the boardroom are asking, from a broader perspective, 'How are we going to grow?'" Hyde asserts.
The issue of "risk" has taken on a more expanded role, according to Kamra, with strategic efforts defining risk in more expansive terms beyond credit risk. "There's the issue of fiduciary risk and operational risk and how you manage these issues in the greater context of managing an organization holistically," Kamra says.
While strategic consulting is experiencing a host of changes in tandem with an overall focus on`accountability and shareholder value, consultants say that banks must be willing to define and act upon specifics unique to their competitive situations.
Superior performers will be distinguished from the industry pack, according to First Manhattan's McCormick, when organizational leaders are "willing to step up and declare a strategy that's sufficiently defined" versus following whatever trend is contemporary at the time.
"You have to be willing to invest in your strategy while saying 'no' to the things that don't fit," McCormick concludes.
Marakon Associates
Headquarters: New York City
Key contact: Ken Favaro, CEO
Number of offices: 5
Years in business: 24
Revenues: 2001 revenues totaled $116 million
Specialties: corporate and business unit strategy; leadership and organizational design; financial policies; customer-value management
Website:: www.marakon.com
Marakon Associates is an international management consulting firm that works with CEOs and their executive teams to develop strategies and organizational capabilities that maximize the long-term intrinsic value of those companies. Headquartered in New York, the privately held Marakon also has offices in Chicago, London, San Francisco, and Singapore.
Established in 1978 by three former corporate finance executives at Wells Fargo Bank, along with one member of the academic community, Marakon's consulting practice has been built on the premise that the long-term interests of all stakeholders are best served when management can create the highest value for investors over time. Three of the four founders, James M. McTaggart, Peter W. Kontes, and William W. Alberts, are still with the firm as co-chairmen and partner, respectively. Chief executive is Ken Favaro, whose particular focus is on increasing long-term growth potential for "mature" businesses. Revenues for 2001 totaled $116 million and the firm employs approximately 375 people.
Several key principles guide Marakon's consulting efforts, according to representatives of the firm. Specifically, Marakon seeks to develop a common understanding of the sources and drivers of shareholder value and to establish an executive agenda of the issues that will create the most value to shareholders. Marakon executives make it is a priority to enhance corporate and business-- unit strategies that will maximize future cash flows and economic profit growth-- that is, increase net profit above and beyond the cost of capital. Consulting efforts also aim to build the decision-making processes, standards, and management capabilities of clients to create a sustainable organizational advantage and to develop a sharpened ownership culture.
McKinsey & Company
Headquarters: New York City
Key contact: Rajat Gupta, managing director
Number of offices: 84
Years in business: 76
Revenues: not disclosed
Specialties: commercial banking, investment banking, diversified financial services
Website: www.mckinsey.com
Founded in 1926 when Charles Lindburgh was making headlines, McKinsey & Co. is a venerable firm steeped in tradition, yet it consistently remains on the cutting edge of business strategy and research. The firm is made up of a global partnership serving three of the world's five largest companies and two-thirds of the Fortune 1000. With 84 offices located in 44 countries around the world, McKinsey operates as one global entity led by its partners, who own the firm. A self-proclaimed "meritocracy" McKinsey prides itself on hiring some of the most talented and intellectual minds in the country. Its research enjoys widespread publicity, yet McKinsey's principals prefer to stay out of the limelight, as our endeavor to interview them demonstrated.
In its banking and securities practice, McKinsey serves a wide variety of clients in commercial banking, investment banking/brokerage, asset management, consumer finance, securities, insurance, and diversified financial services. The banking and securities practice is organized on a regional basis with three major centers: Europe, North America and emerging markets.
McKinsey's areas of expertise include growth strategy, business-unit strategy and performance, cost and productivity and sales and marketing effectiveness for retail banking and consumer credit; strategic technology issues; payments strategies; investment and wholesale banking management; and organizational and industry issues embracing all elements of the business system for asset management endeavors.
McKinsey's philosophy is to bring together consultants with expertise in a specific industry or functional areas. Besides working with clients to address strategic and competitive challenges, each practice conducts unique research to advance understanding on critical trends.
Professional Bank Services
Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky
Key contact: George Freibert, chairman
Number of offices: 5
Years in business: 24
Specialties: strategic planning, corporate structure and governance, compliance consulting, loan review, mergers and acquisitions, education and training
Website: www.probank.com
Most banks these days have a strategic plan, says George Freibert, chairman of Louisville, Kentucky-based Professional Bank Services (PBS). For some small, rural banks, the plan may be filed in the CEO's head. Some boards have it written on a piece of paper-filed somewhere. Others are detailed, discussed, and followed to the letter. But in nearly every case, no matter how sound the plan, the directors have periodic questions about the bank's performance.
Directors want to know: How do we stack up compared to competitors and peers? Are we on the right track? Are there things we could be doing better? What are regulators going to be looking at the next time they come in the bank? How can we cut our expenses without harming service? Should we be in insurance, securities? Should we start a trust department? And, more recently, how should our board govern itself in the post-Enron era? There may not be definitive answers to all these issues, but consultants like PBS are there to help.
"A bank is perfectly capable of developing its own strategic plan, but it's helpful to bounce it off somebody," Freibert says.
A former bank examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Freibert founded PBS in 1978. Since that time, the firm has developed a practice that includes a wide range of services, including mergers and acquisitions; de novo charters; branching; loan review services; compliance consulting; human resources; profitability consulting; litigation; seminars; and in-house training. PBS has additional offices in New York City, Chicago, Orlando, and Nashville. Freibert, a frequent lecturer with the National Association of Corporate Directors, is known in the industry a straight-shooter and he takes a no-frills stance on strategic planning.
"The plan itself is overrated," he says. "It's got to be accompanied by strong adherence to the basics of banking: making good loans and not taking unreasonable chances in the securities portfolio, for instance. If you've got a sloppy bank, you're not going to get anywhere."
It's the process of planning rather than the plan itself, he says, that is most valuable. That's where consultants like PBS can help. And though an outside perspective is at times necessary, Freibert concedes it's not always welcome. Sometimes, he says, he is faced with the unsavory task of telling the bank that its strategic plan just isn't going to fly. Cases like that are tough, but Freibert says honesty is what makes his business work.
"We've been in business 25 years," he says, "People hire us because they believe what we tell them." [BD]
[Sidebar]
THE CONSULTANTS: GOOD FOR WHAT AILS YOUR VALUE
[Sidebar]
In an era of increasing accountability, financial institutions are challenged to define who they are within the context of what they can deliver in a way that is ultimately profitable to shareholders. That's no easy task for 4ank chief executives and directors, given short-term tactical pressures and sometimes conflicting internal priorities.
While size and scale garnered much of the industry's strategic focus during the past decade, the emphasis is shifting. Increasingly, it's value that underscores strategic decision making, according to consultants who advise larger financial institutions. In their quest for greater clarity in the allocation of corporate resources, bank CEOs are reassessing the merits of longstanding strategic theorems. These CEOs are questioning the perceived benefits of size, scale, cross selling and distribution-channel profitability, among other issues. But as some consultants fervently note, change doesn't happen overnight.
[Sidebar]
"In recent years, we've seen more of an evolution than a revolution," says Scott Gillis, managing partner with New York-based Marakon Associates. "What hasn't fully matured yet is what managing for value actually requires. Few institutions get beneath the surface in determining what drives the numbers."
Although value is cited as a common theme in the industry today, consultants say divergent competitive pressures can make it difficult to mai ain focus at some institutions. Present issues in client boardrooms include revenue growth, line-of-business end household-- profitability analysis, information tech
[Sidebar]
nology, risk management, management leadership development, and corporate governance. The prioritization of these issues under the overall "value" umbrella varies among individual banks and reflects corporate culture, leadership, and governance.
While shareholder value permeates client initiatives, New York-based First Manhattan Consulting Group President James M. McCormick identifies four critical strategic consultation issues among his firm's clients: revenue growth, corporate strategy, line of business strategy, and risk management. Though short-- term competitive tactical pressures often relegate strategic planning to the back burner, McCormick says strategy development is critical to bank success. Execution is important, McCormick notes, however "an effective strategy is an enabler of execution."
[Sidebar]
"We do a lot of work on revenue growth, working on strategy, market segmentation, and sales effectiveness," McCormick says. Competitive factors driving faster or slower revenue growth in respect to broader industry trends and marketing discipline are also gaining greater attention, he adds.
"Banks that choose to sell often rationalize that decision by claiming that they don't have the scale to compete as an independent entity," McCormick states. "In reality, it's more an issue of revenue growth."
Corporate strategy and line-of-business strategy also resonate as critical strategic issues. "Strategy, in essence, is an allocation of resources," McCormick states. Questions that frequently come to the forefront in assessing that allocation include: Does the bank have the right mix of business? Is it overinvest
[Sidebar]
ing in low-return or problematic businesses? What are the businesses the bank wants to run and what are the projections for profitability and growth in these areas? What is the availability of seasoned talent to manage a broader breadth of services?
While scope and scale captured the strategic imagination of industry executives-and the wallets of bank shareholders-throughout the past decade, Marakon's Gillis is observing a shift in priorities and sophistication in the development and deployment of strategic initiatives.
"In terms of scope, the previous focus was on ubiquity-minimizing risk while maximizing opportunity through diversity," Gillis states. "While many financial institutions have been pursuing participation in multiple client and product segments, I believe we're seeing a new emphasis on focus-minimizing risk and maximizing opportunity through focused competitive advantage in profitable markets."
[Sidebar]
The relevance of scale is also being reassessed, Gillis contends. "The previous focus was on top-line growth and scale through mergers and acquisitions," Gillis says. "But the new emphasis is on distinguishing between good and bad growth. The benefits of scale are being outweighed by knowing exactly where value is created."
From a profitability standpoint, Gillis also notes an emphasis on delineating a "clear line of sight" between customer value-specifically, perceived benefits to the customer-and shareholder value. Previously, he asserts that prioritization was on profitability by line of business or product.
[Author Affiliation]
Karen Kahler Holliday is a freelance business writer based in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Susan Lahey is a business and financial journalist in Kansas City.
Eminem is recovering from a bout with pneumonia that sent him to the hospital. "Over the holidays, Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem, was under doctor's care at a Detroit-area hospital for complications due to pneumonia," the rapper's publicist, Dennis Dennehy, said Tuesday. "He has since been released and is doing well recovering at home."
Eminem's illness first was reported by celebrity Web site TMZ.com.
Eminem, 35, rose to stardom thanks to a number of best-selling CDs, personal lyrics and a starring role in the hit 2002 film "8 Mile."
He has won Grammys, including best rap album for "The Slim Shady LP," "The Marshall Mathers LP" and "The Eminem Show," as well as an Oscar for the song "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile."
___
On the Net:
Eminem:
TMZ:
| Status | Threatened |
| Listed | June 3, 1987 |
| Family | Corvidae |
| Description | A medium-sized perching bird. |
| Habitat | Oak scrub habitat on well-drained sandy soil. |
| Food | Feeds widely, but mostly on insects and acorns. |
| Reproduction | Lays eggs in a stick-nest in a tree; the female incubates, but both parents and juvenile helpers care for the young. |
| Threats | Habitat loss. |
| Range | Florida |
The Florida scrub-jay is about 10-12 in (25-30 cm) long and weighs about 2.7 oz (77 g). It is similar in size and shape to the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata ), but it differs in coloration and lacks a crest. Its head, nape, wings, and tail are colored pale blue, and the back and belly are pale grey. Its throat and upper breast are lightly striped and bordered by a pale blue-gray bib. The sexes are not distinguishable by plumage, but males average slightly larger than females, and the female makes a distinct "hiccup" vocalization. Juvenile birds less than about five months of age are distinguished by their plumage, which is smoky gray on the head and back and lacks the blue crown and nape of adults. Molting occurs between early June and late November, and peaks between mid-July and late September. During late summer and early fall, when the first basic molt is nearly complete, fledgling scrub-jays may be indistinguishable from adults.
The Florida scrub-jay is extremely habitat-specific, sedentary, and territorial. It has a social structure that involves cooperative breeding, a trait that western North American populations of scrub-jays do not exhibit. Florida scrub-jays live in groups ranging from two (a single mated pair) up to extended families of eight adults and one to four juveniles. Fledgling birds remain with the breeding pair in their natal territory as "helpers," forming a closely-knit, cooperative family group. Pre-breeding numbers are generally reduced to either a pair with no helpers or families of three or four individuals (a pair plus one or two helpers). The family group has a dominance hierarchy, with breeder males being most dominant, followed by helper males, breeder females, and then female helpers. Helpers participate in sentinel duties, territorial defense, predator mobbing, and the feeding of nestlings and fledglings.
Florida scrub-jay pairs occupy a year-round, multi-purpose territory. The territory size averages 22-25 acres (9-10 hectares), with a minimum of about 2 acres (5 hectares). The availability of suitable territories is a limiting factor for scrub-jay populations. Because of this limitation, non-breeding adult males may remain on their natal territory as helpers for up to five years, waiting for a territory (or sometimes a mate) to become available.
The nest of the Florida scrub-jay is an open cup, with an outside diameter of about 8 in (18-20 cm), and inside diameter of 3.5 in (8-9 cm). The basket is bulky and constructed of coarse twigs, while the inside is lined with tightly wound palm fibers. Nesting normally occurs from the beginning of March through June. Nesting failures are almost always caused by predation, most frequently by ground-based predators such as climbing snakes, raccoons, and domestic cats. Clutch size ranges from one to five eggs, but is typically three or four eggs. Eggs are incubated for 17-18 days, and fledging occurs 16-21 days after hatching. Only the breeding female incubates and broods the eggs and nestlings, but both parents and juvenile helpers feed the young. The average annual production of young is two fledglings per pair, and the presence of helpers improves fledging success. Annual productivity must average at least two young fledged per pair for a population of scrub-jays to maintain long-term stability.
Florida scrub-jays forage mostly on or near the ground, often along habitat edges. They visually search for food by hopping or running along the ground beneath the scrub, or by jumping from shrub to shrub. Insects, particularly orthopterans and lepidopteran larvae, comprise the majority of the animal diet throughout most of the year. Acorns are by far the most important plant food. They sometimes eat small vertebrate animals.
The Florida scrub-jay is endemic to ancient dune ecosystems or scrubs, which occur on well-drained to excessively well-drained, nutrient-poor, sandy soils. Its oak-dominated scrub habitat is adapted to nutrient-poor soil, periodic drought, high seasonal rainfall, and frequent wildfire. The dominant oaks are stunted, low-growing species, such as sand live oak (Quercus geminata ), Chapman oak (Q. chap-manii ), myrtle oak (Q. myrtifolia ), and scrub oak (Q. inopina ). In optimal habitat, the oaks are 3-10 ft (1-3 m) high, interspersed with 10-50% unvegetated, sandy openings, and with a sand pine (Pinus clausa ) canopy of less than 20%. Larger trees and dense herbaceous vegetation are uncommon.
The Florida scrub-jay was historically distributed throughout the Florida peninsula in suitable scrub habitat. It occurred in 39 of the 40 counties south of (and including) Levy, Gilchrist, Alachua, Clay, and Duval Counties. The current range is smaller, and the population much less. On the Atlantic Coast, Florida scrub-jays extend from Flagler to Palm Beach Counties. On the Gulf Coast, they occur patchily from Levy, Citrus, western Marion, and northwestern Sumter Counties south to Sarasota, western DeSoto, Charlotte, Lee, and northwestern Collier Counties. In central Florida, they range from southwestern Clay through Putnam and Marion Counties, south through Polk, Highlands, and Glades Counties. The Florida scrub-jay has been extirpated from Broward, Dade, Duval, Gilchrist, Hendry, Pinellas, and St. Johns Counties.
The distribution and status of the Florida scrub-jay across its range was updated during 1992-1993. Based upon that survey, the overall population was divided into five subregions, corresponding to the major areas of sand deposits located on the Florida peninsula. Three of the subregions are considered "core populations" because they contain most of the remaining Florida scrub-jays. These core populations occur at Merritt Island/Cape Canaveral Complex, Ocala National Forest, and on the southern Lake Wales Ridge. Scrub-jay populations outside of the three core subregions consist of smaller sub-populations that are isolated to varying degrees.
The Florida scrub-jay is threatened because of the loss, fragmentation, and degradation of its scrub habitat throughout Florida. This damage is due primarily to the conversion of its habitat to urbanized and agricultural land-uses, as well as the suppression of wildfires. Scrub habitats of Florida are some of the most imperiled natural communities in the United States, with estimates of habitat loss since presettlement times ranging from 70 to more than 80%. Historically, this community type occurred as large, contiguous patches, some of them over hundredsof miles in extent. Today, only relict patches of dry oak scrub remain.
Throughout the northern part of their range, population declines of Florida scrub-jays are attributed to scrub fragmentation and degradation, due primarily to widespread fire suppression. Citrus conversion and residential development continue to be the most important factors causing the decline of scrub-jay populations in the southern parts of their range. Since about 1985, their total population has declined by about 25-50%, and the species has become extirpated from seven counties. The most recent estimate of the population of the Florida scrub-jay (in 1993) was 11,000 birds, or about 4,000 pairs. This population is no more than about 15% of the estimated pre-settlement population, and corresponds to a similar reduction in the distribution of scrub habitat. As of 1993, half of the remaining Florida scrub-jays occurred in Brevard and Highlands Counties. A total of 19 occupied counties contained 30 or fewer groups of scrub-jays.
Overall conservation measures for the Florida scrub-jay must be based on an understanding of the demography and behavior of the species, as well as the long-term management needs of its oak scrub habitat. All Florida scrub-jays reside within a territory, which must contain sufficient habitat to sustain a family group throughout the year. It is critical to know the density of territories supported by the habitat, the total area of suitable habitat available, and the long-term management required to maintain its suitability for scrub-jays.
The fate of the Florida scrub-jay depends on the effective protection and management of the remaining oak scrub habitat, both on public and private lands. Management to maintain or increase the numbers of scrub-jays is directly correlated with the amount of habitat available to support territorial pairs. Florida scrub-jays will not persist in scrub that is not burned regularly. Natural wildfires, which typically occur from lightening strikes during May to September, are a frequent influence on scrub habitat succession. These fires probably occurred at intervals of 5-40 years during presettlement times. Oak scrub revegetates to its pre-burn structure and species composition about four to five years after a burn. A fire frequency of about once every 10-20 years is considered optimal for scrub-jays. In the absence of natural fires, the oak scrub community requires management prescriptions, including controlled burns or, less preferably, mechanical treatment to maintain habitat suitability. Studies at Archbold Biological Station concluded that small, isolated populations of Florida scrub-jays are more likely to become extirpated by demographic fluctuations if their habitat is not maintained by periodic burning. Habitat management for scrub-jays should include rotations of prescribed burns, each covering a relatively small portion of a preserved tract of scrub. Patches in the tract should be burned every 10-20 years; shorter intervals are applicable to faster growing coastal scrubs, while longer intervals are suitable in slow-growing central-ridge scrubs. Small patches left unburned provide cover and foraging sites as the scrub regenerates. No more than 25% of an area should be burned at any time. It is critical to maintain connections among patches of suitable habitat to facilitate the dispersal of scrub-jays, and also to include buffer habitat around scrub patches. Effective reserve design to support a protected population of Florida scrub-jays in average habitat is thought to require at least 750 acres (304 hectares) of periodically burned oak scrub. This assumes that a sustainable population of scrub-jays consists of 15-30 territories located within 2.4 mi (4 km) of at least one other population containing more than 30 territories, and the need for 25 acres (10 hectares) per territory. Florida scrub-jay populations with fewer than 30 territories cannot be considered safe from extirpation over the long term. Although most of the population of Florida scrub-jays resides on conserved public lands, the overall numbers are in decline. Management practices on public lands should focus on enhancing and creating scrub habitat to assist with scrub-jay recovery. Conservation on private lands requires acquisition programs for scrub habitat, through state efforts such as the Conservation and Recreation Lands program, and the implementation of habitat conservation plans to protect large tracts of private scrub habitat (including the negotiation of conservation easements). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is using digital data analyzed using a geographic information system to evaluate the amount of occupied scrub habitat and unoccupied but restorable scrub throughout Florida. These methods are also being used to identify areas suitable for creating habitat reserves on both public and private lands, including establishing connections among existing areas of protected habitat. In addition, spatially explicit models are beingused to predict the results of alternative reserve designs and to help with implementing the optimal conservation measures for long-term protection and enhancement of the Florida scrub-jay. Consideration is also being made of population enhancement and establishment by the translocation of birds.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Jacksonville Ecological Services
Field Office
6620 Southpoint Drive, South. Suite 310
Jacksonville, Florida, 32216-0958
Telephone: (904) 232-2580
Fax: (904) 232-2404
http://www/fws.gov/r4jafl/
Breininger, D.R., M.J. Provancha, and R.B. Smith.1991. "Mapping Florida Scrub Jay Habitat for Purposes of Land Use Management." Photogram-metric Engineering and Remote Sensing 57: 1467-1474.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1999. "South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Plan." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, Atlanta, GA.
Most days, this is a sophisticated sports nation. But in thepathetic case of Pete Rose, people are astonishingly stupid. Ishouldn't have to remind anyone that he bet on baseball gamesinvolving his team, violated the most sacred code of competition,consorted with dirtbags and drug dealers and ignored the no-gamblingsign bolted to the front door all 5,000 or so times he entered major-league clubhouses.
I know. I was in Cincinnati in the late 1980s, a pup columnistwatching closely as one of the proudest and most beloved images inthe game--Charlie Hustle--put on a reversible jacket and took on theantithetical meaning of slime.
And yet here we are, a grotesquely forgiving society, ready toreinstate Rose and vote him immediately into the Hall of Famebecause, after 13 years of denial, he finally might be ready to admithis guilt. In most walks of life, a confession serves only to upholdthe original punishment. But in his shiftiest hustle to date, Rosehas conned the masses into thinking he's the victim and commissionerBud Selig is the villain. So powerful is the groundswell to pardonPoor Pete that Selig is caving in to public pressure and turning intoa bigger Gumby doll than usual, apparently prepared to lift thepermanent ban if Rose satisfies him with the proper dose of b.s.
Shame on Selig for negotiating away the one impressive stand ofhis shaky tenure: the integrity of a sport. Rather than surrender toopinion polls that support Rose's reinstatement by a landslide,rather than listen to the fools who give Rose standing ovations whenhe appears at public functions, Selig should counteract this perversepopularity by announcing Rose's suspension will continue forevermore.That way, he will end this senseless pity party once and for allwhile continuing to defend the moral framework that Rose so grosslyviolated.
What bothers me about the Save Pete crusade is that people don'tgrasp what he did wrong. When special investigator John Dowduncovered evidence that left little doubt Rose was gambling onbaseball, even on his own team when he managed the Reds, it left thesport with an eternal stain. If a legendary competitor couldn't betrusted, who could? The stench of gambling always will be part ofsports, but once it infects the outcome of games, there's no usewatching or paying money for tickets. It becomes one big lie, not tobe believed, as real as pro wrestling. When an insider uses insideinformation to make money, sport is defrauded. You feel like you haveto go home and take three showers.
A night probably doesn't pass without a game in some league beingfixed on some level. Which is all the more reason why commissionersmust protect the sanctity of their leagues and make lasting examplesof wrongdoers, even those as famous and accomplished as Rose. UnlessI've contracted amnesia, it was Rose who agreed to the lifetime banin August 1989 after commissioner Bart Giamatti wrote a report thatdetailed 412 baseball bets between April 8 and July 5, 1987,including 52 on the Reds to win games. If Rose was as innocent as herepeatedly has claimed, why did he sign the document? I can't say Iever saw Rose bet, but in my three seasons covering his team--including the aforementioned gambling dates--I saw enough unsavorypeople in the clubhouse to know something was up. One night onDivision Street, some of the very sleazebags connected with Rose'sgambling were frolicking with Reds players, turning one famous taverninto a strip joint of sorts.
Since signing away his fate and serving prison time in DownstateIllinois, Rose has waged a comical campaign of deceit. Strangely,however, America didn't turn its back on him. It warmly embraced him,as though his transgressions never happened. This became a mindlesscrusade, with millions defending Rose even though they probablycouldn't explain why. They figured it was just a cool thing to do, aposition only strengthened when NBC's Jim Gray, who simply was doinghis job, asked Rose a necessary question after an emotional ceremonyhonoring the greatest players in baseball history during the 1999World Series: Would Rose ever own up to his gambling mistakes?
The public howled. And Rose grinned, knowing he was winning thepublic-relations war. Recently, ESPN.com asked Internet surfers tochoose the worst transgression in baseball. Almost 31 percent saidusing cocaine, 28.7 percent said using steroids and 21 percent saidfailing to hustle. Only 19.5 percent said betting on baseball games.
They just don't get it.
It's mind-boggling that Selig would allow two letters from themayor of Cincinnati to get the new ball rolling. Then came lobbyingfrom Rose's old friend, Mike Schmidt, and from former Reds teammatesJoe Morgan and Johnny Bench. It all starts with Pete," Morgan said.He's got to come clean. He's got to make it right. It's up to him."
Again, they want an acknowledgment of guilt, as though that willmake everything right, conveniently forgetting that Rose's informalbut obvious confession was signed in ink 13 years ago. The way he hascarried on, kicking and screaming and courting public favor, is allthe more reason to continue the ban. Doesn't he make a mockery of thegame by selling his autograph every summer in Cooperstown? And whatwas that he said about Selig and the powers-that-be--In 1999, when Imade the All-Century team, they needed me. They're hypocrites."--just last year?
I know it's the holiday season, but this is no time for shortmemories.
I'm tired of talking about it. I'm fed up. He's history," saidHall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller, one of Rose's big critics. It's apublicity stunt by him and his people."
I would be very careful before I put him back," Dowd said. I guessI come down on the side of history. To me, you can't have someoneback in baseball unless they've cleaned it all up and have it allstraightened out. If you don't, you have the game in jeopardy. Whatdo you do with the bookmakers he's ever dealt with? What do you dowith the people he owes money? Has he reconfigured his life?"
Great questions, all. This isn't about Rose standing before thenation and issuing some scripted apology. It's about him meaning it.And if he didn't come clean for more than a decade, why should webelieve the man now?
He deserves no mercy, no second chance, no Christmas present.Unfortunately, I am not the commissioner of baseball. Bud Light is.
The Coast Guard is searching a second day for five people believed to be on a plane that went missing off Florida's Gulf Coast.
A Coast Guard spokesman said Thursday morning that only a two-mile debris field has been found.
The twin-engine Cessna was flying from McKinney, Texas, to Tampa when it went down Wednesday afternoon about 20 miles west of Port Richey. Debris was found shortly after.
The Federal Aviation Administration says air traffic controllers in Jacksonville lost radio and radar contact with the plane after it reported turbulence at 1:52 p.m. A forecaster at the National Weather Service said there were thunderstorms and lightning in the area at the time, which can create turbulence.
"It wasn't blue sky. There were some storms out there," forecaster Ryan Sharp said.
Records indicate the plane is owned by Q4 Aviation in Carrollton, Texas. The passengers' identities haven't been released.
They came in their hatchbacks, 4x4s and their estates to raisecash for the Three Cs Harvest Home this coming September.
The community group organised a car treasure hunt on the weekendalong the lanes and roads of the three villages that constitute theeponymous Three Cs: Cocklake, Crickham and Clewer.
Starting and finishing at Yew Tree Farm, Crickham, the motoristsset off on a hunt following clues hidden in trees, gardens andcrevices in wall.
"We had so many people turn up with a raffle, drinks and foodavailable for everyone," said organiser Shirley Lukins. "It waslovely weather and we were very pleased as we raised around Pounds180 for the harvest home."
The main aim of these smaller events is to help subsidise theharvest home held in a marquee at Yew Tree Farm on Friday, September2. Shirley said that everyone in the three communities gets a chanceto buy a ticket first, with the others being sold later in thesummer.
"Harvest homes bring communities together," said Shirley.
LeCLAIRE, Iowa--With a macho swagger and some serious grunting,Illinois pulled the title of top tugger back over to the easternshore of the Mississippi River.
Tuggers from Illinois topped their cross-river counterpartsSaturday 6-5 to claim the Great River Tug Fest.
The annual tug-of-rope competition features 10 teams of 20 men,and one 25-member women's team. Teams from Iowa line up in LeClaireand teams from Illinois line up across the river in Port Byron, Ill.
The pullers work to get themselves in their best fighting moodduring the pull, which exhausts even the brawniest of men.
The tug is the "worst three minutes of your life but it's allworth it," said Dave Carson, who pulled for the Genesis Systems Groupteam for the Iowa side.
AP
Kennedy McKinney won an Olympic gold medal in Asia, won aprofessional championship in Europe and lost it in Africa. He willtry to win a second crown - the vacant World Boxing Unionjunior-featherweight title - Saturday in Chicago when he fights JohnLowey at the Bismarck Palace, 171 W. Randolph.
Lowey, who hails from Ireland, has been fighting out of Chicagofor the last year and a half. The fight will be televised live on"The CBS Sports Show." The main event is scheduled for 2 p.m.; thefirst fight will be at 1 p.m.
Lowey, who is 21-0 with 15 knockouts, would have fought McKinneyin the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, but he suffered a brokenknuckle and had to withdraw from their semifinal bout.
Ticket prices are $40, $30 and $20. For more information, callMike Joyce's Clover Promotions at (312) 239-4450.
COACH DIES: Harlein Holden, 40, of Evanston died in his sleepMonday.
He was the boxing coach at Loyola Park and coach of the ChicagoGolden Gloves team.
Holden had just returned from a fishing trip to Wisconsin.
He had a good amateur career, followed by a short pro career.Among his foes was Bruce "Mouse" Strauss, whom he defeated.
He was president of the Illinois Amateur Boxing Association.
WHOLE LOTTA GOLOTA: Chicago heavyweight Andrew Golota will fightWest Turner on the undercard of the Pernell Whitaker-Gary JacobsWorld Boxing Council welterweight title bout Saturday in AtlanticCity, N.J.
The main event will be televised by HBO, but there are no plansto televise the Golota fight.
Golota, who moved here from Poland several years ago, isscheduled to fight Alex Zolkin of Russia in January. Zolkin willfight Tony Tubbs on ESPN's "Top Rank Boxing" on Friday.
PUNCHLINES: Luis Santana won and retained his WBCsuper-welterweight title by being fouled by Terry Norris in two boutsthat saw him taken to the hospital. Last Saturday, he lost the crownto Norris in their third fight. He was knocked out in the secondround but was on his feet within seconds.
"I win the title, I go to the hospital," Santana said. "I losemy title, but I don't go to the hospital. . . . I don't know if Ishould be happy."
Ronaldo will miss at least two matches because of a calf injury that has been bothering him for two weeks.
Corinthians doctors said Monday the three-time world player of the year will not be fit to play in Corinthians' match against Vasco in the semifinals of the Brazilian Cup on Wednesday. He will also miss the team's Brazilian league game against Santos on Sunday.
"Ronaldo needs another week to fully recover," doctor Joaquim Grava told the Globo Esporte Web site.
Ronaldo, returning to competitive football after more than a year sidelined because of the third serious injury of his career, had already missed Corinthians' 2-1 win over Barueri on Saturday in the Brazilian league.
Ronaldo injured his right leg in the 1-0 win against Fluminense in the first leg of the Brazilian Cup quarterfinals on May 13.
The 32-year-old striker, who has scored 10 goals since returning to action in March, played the second leg against Fluminense last week but said the injury bothered him too much.
Under the big top, attending into presence a portable past, cool breezes whisper the Holy Spirit's heart: "Behold, I am doing a new thing." Nudged into a season of change, I envision my daughter and sons ecstatically walking another generation's promise down vaulted heritage halls; taste their autumn interaction, feasting, with friends, on shared potential; feel their souls' twinings, into wee hours, around self-revelations on cold winter nights; hear them achingly and uprootingly saying another spring's goodbyes; touch the depths of who, by degrees, they will have become after faith and understanding have graduated into love. Today, we fully sense that the Creator is good, humbly welcome the Redeemer to this incarnate ground, and praise our hovering Sustainer for renovating a small universe in which to learn and live the providence of grace.
This poem is dedicated to the prophetic early envisioners; the prayerful, divine-leading listeners; the steadfast, nuts-and-bolts implementers and the generous supporters who have helped, over the last 22 years, to make the CMU dream a reality. It was written on September 24 during the CMU opening program under a tent. The title alludes to the biblical "Feast of Booths," during which the Israelites lived in tents to remind themselves of their tenuous beginnings.
Q. I'm scheduled to have a hysterectomy. I hear I won't be ableto eat for a couple of days afterward. Why not?
A. It's long been believed that after a patient undergoes anykind of abdominal surgery, a day or two of starvation follows, andthen the patient gets to eat rubbery hospital Jell-O and waterybroth. That strategy gives the gastrointestinal system a neededbreak after the double insult of anesthesia and surgical bowelmanipulation, the thinking has gone.
During the last 10 years, however, that has changed. A number ofstudies show eating real food soon after surgery enhances healing,decreases the hospital stay and results in patients feeling a wholelot better -- without any increase in complications. There is nobenefit to starting with the traditional clear liquid diet andgradually moving up to solid food. Most people do surprisingly well,especially if they eat only when and what they want to.
The only thing that hasn't changed? Hospital food is still vile.
Q. I heard there was a study that proved that chewing gum rightafter surgery improves recovery. Is that true?
A. A number of studies have been published in the last couple ofyears looking at the potential benefit of chewing gum in the firstcouple of days after surgery. One showed that chewing gum for 30minutes, three times a day resulted in a quicker return to normalbowel function. Other studies showed no benefit, other than patientsenjoyed chewing gum after surgery.
The bottom line is that it probably doesn't help, but it doesn'thurt, either, and if nothing else, will take away that awful dry-mouth feeling. If you want to chew gum, though, bring your own. Lasttime I checked, the pharmacy wasn't supplying it.
Lauren Streicher, M.D., practices at Northwestern MemorialHospital. Her column appears every other Friday. E-maildrstreicher@suntimes.com.
A master plan is essential to the success of a do-it-yourselfdecorating project, especially if your budget is limited.
To get the most for your money, do your homework. It isimportant to know exactly where, what and how to buy.
Here are some helpful tips from Judy Pearl, Victoria Sermontiand Diana Valin of Lexington Management's rental staff. Set a dollar amount you are willing or able to spend.
"Once you have set the amount, be willing to invest some time inorder to save some money. We window-shopped around a lot in largediscount chains rather than small specialty shops, and we also lookedfor sales and moderately priced, good quality merchandise at largedepartment stores," Pearl said. When shopping for bargains, the women also paid attention to howstore professionals displayed the wares at various outlets.
An attractive J.C. Penney display inspired the bed treatment inthe master bedroom of the Astor model at Plum Grove VillageApartments.
A gray, beige and tan leaf print queen-size comforter purchasedat Marshall Field's was combined with two matching pillowcases andtwo beige pillowcases, all king size. The excess open ends of eachpillowcase were gathered and pulled through a gray plastic napkinring for visual interest.
The result is a bed treatment that has an expensive designerlook for a fraction of the cost. Tenants who move into a rental apartment with white walls are betteroff investing in colorful accessories they can take with them whenthey move rather then spending money on bright paint or wallcoveringthat has to be left behind when it is time to relocate. Buying dishes by the piece instead of by the place setting can be aless expensive way to achieve an attractive dinner table.
A MARRIAGE between Wessex Water and Bristol Water will affect halfa million customers in the area.
Customers will now receive just the one bill for their watersupply and sewerage.
Several years of negotiations between the two separate companieswill take effect from next month.
Letters were sent out in December and January informing customersof the changes to their payment methods by the joint venture calledBristol Wessex Billing Services (BWBS). …
Some 4,000 Lufthansa employees walked off the job Tuesday on the second day of a strike for higher wages, causing Germany's largest airline to cancel more than a dozen flights and warn that more could follow.
The work stoppages were centered on airports in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Berlin and affected mostly short-haul flights.
The airports reported cancellations but Lufthansa would not specify how many flights had been grounded overall. Spokesman Patrick Meschenmoser said, however, that up to 70 could be affected by the end of the day.
The ver.di union, which represents about 50,000 ground service personnel and a small amount of cabin staff, started an open-ended strike for more pay Monday. It is the first ver.di strike at Lufthansa in 13 years.
The union is seeking a 9.8 percent pay rise for a year, while the airline has offered 7.7 percent for 21 months including a one-time bonus payment.
The first day of strikes had little effect on the Cologne-based airline's flights, and the possible 70 cancellations on Tuesday would represent just 3 percent of total flight capacity, Meschenmoser said.
Shares of Lufthansa were trading down 2.5 percent at euro14.60 (US$23.07).
___
On the Net:
In March 2003, Zeinab Taleb-Jedi was a middle-aged widow who found herself trapped in a cold, dusty bunker in Iraq as invading U.S. forces began blowing up buildings and inflicting casualties all around her.
"The noise was overwhelming and frightening," the Iran-born U.S. citizen said in a statement recounting the air raids around Camp Ashraf, a stronghold for Iranian exiles about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Baghdad. "The attacks terrified me."
Taleb-Jedi, 52, escaped serious harm. But more than five years later, she remains stuck in legal limbo in New York, facing federal terrorism charges labeling her a leader of a militant group advocating the violent overthrow of the Iranian government.
Her largely overlooked arrest and protracted prosecution have outraged civil rights advocates, who accuse federal authorities of trampling free speech by overzealously enforcing laws against providing material support to terrorist groups.
Defense attorney Justine Harris has questioned why "the government would want to put this woman in jail for associating with a group whose goal is regime change in Iran, arguably a central tenet of our own foreign policy."
Taleb-Jedi has been linked to the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, a group designated a terrorist organization by the State Department in 1997. Prosecutors say she became an English teacher in 1999 at the organization's Iraq headquarters, Camp Ashraf, and that two informants have since identified her as a member of a leadership council.
In a pending motion to dismiss the case, Harris claims the government has never specified how her client purportedly supported terrorism, "other than teaching English _ itself an entirely innocuous act."
Prosecutors counter that "teaching English to other terrorists is not protected First Amendment activity."
A federal judge in Brooklyn has said he will soon decide whether to let the case go forward. If convicted, Taleb-Jedi faces up to 15 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Taleb-Jedi is free on $500,000 bond and living in a homeless shelter in Manhattan.
Originally a Marxist-Islamist group, the People's Mujahedeen formed in the mid-1960s to oppose the U.S.-backed dictatorship of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. During the 1970s, it killed U.S. citizens working in Tehran, supported the 1979 takeover of the American Embassy there and participated in Iran's Islamic Revolution, according to the State Department.
After a falling out with the ruling clerics, the group launched a campaign of assassinations and bombings in an attempt to topple them. The group moved to Iraq in the early 1980s to fight Iran's rulers from there.
The group insists it no longer engages in armed struggle, and it won a court decision last year in Britain removing it from that government's terror list. It also won the support of some U.S. lawmakers by providing intelligence on Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles, who sought the indictment against Taleb-Jedi amid a broader investigation of the People's Mujahedeen, had no comment.
A frail-looking Taleb-Jedi declined to talk about her case when she left a recent court hearing.
"Life has been very difficult for her," her lawyer said.
FBI reports about interviews with Taleb-Jedi in 2004 _ questioning her lawyer claims was done under duress _ and the widow's own sworn statement tell a story more sorrowful than sinister.
Born in Tehran, Taleb-Jedi came to the United States on a student visa in 1978 and earned a master's degree in political science. Around the same time, her first marriage fell apart because her husband was "very cruel" and "became a Khomeini supporter," FBI agents said she told them.
She said she was granted political asylum in the mid-1980s, the FBI said. She remarried and moved to New York City with her husband in 1983.
Her second husband left the U.S. a few years later to join the People's Mujahedeen at Camp Ashraf. She stayed behind to work odd jobs and raise the couple's son.
According to the FBI reports, Taleb-Jedi said she visited her husband at Camp Ashraf in 1987. Records show that year she also became a registered press officer for the group.
The FBI claims she told them that she knew that the group had been designated as a terrorist organization and considered the decision "unconstitutional and unfair."
In 1996, Taleb-Jedi became a U.S. citizen. A year later, she learned her husband had died in a bus bombing on a road between Camp Ashraf and Baghdad.
Taleb-Jedi "described herself as being extremely distraught about her husband's assassination," the FBI reports said. "Because she wanted to be close to his grave, she decided to come to Camp Ashraf."
She told agents she taught English in the camp and believed in the group's cause, but never became an official member.
U.S. officials say that at Camp Ashraf they seized tanks, anti-aircraft weapons, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and more than 420,000 pounds of plastic explosives. Despite the stockpile, no one there was expected to be charged, according to news accounts in 2004.
That changed for Taleb-Jedi in March 2006 when, after waiting for more than a year to receive a renewed U.S. passport, she flew from Jordan to New York to see her adult son and seek medical treatment for malnutrition and other ailments, her lawyer said.
FBI agents who were waiting at John F. Kennedy International Airport arrested her.
