Some historians say Macon had its own “Black Wall Street,” with two banks and dozens of black-owned companies doing well. MACON, Ga. — In the early 1900s, downtown Macon reflected segregation and widespread business opportunities for all. In the 1920s, evidence of success for black and white businesses could be seen across the city. Some historians say Macon had its own “Black Wall Street,” with two banks and dozens of black-owned companies doing well. Historians say downtown Macon was very busy, and everyone who wanted to work had a job. Even more interesting was that in that era of segregation, black and white-owned businesses worked side by side. There were white and black businesses across the street from each other in Macon. This was not a common occurrence for many different communities. Many black own businesses prospered. The evidence of this was seen along Popular Street, Mulberry Street, Broadway and especially Cotton Avenue. People with firsthand knowledge of Macon’s black business success shared their stories, and much of it can be found in the many historical resources available. One of those documentaries, produced in 1993, was called Black Cultural History in Macon, Georgia. It included many interviews with individuals […]

Click here to view original web page at www.13wmaz.com

Justin Crowe, president of Parting Stone, holds a person’s remains that his company turned into solidified remains. (Eddie Moore/Journal) Copyright © 2023 Albuquerque It’s not the American way to talk about death. But after months of staggering COVID-19 deaths turned into years — totalling more than 9,000 in New Mexico — death became a daily discussion. “There were so many deaths, it was so busy,” said Liz Hamilton, a sales representative at Albuquerque-based death-care company Passages International, who was a practicing mortician at the time. “… The funeral home that I worked for, it was, I mean, it was just overwhelming – and this was a pretty small town.” Funeral directors were sometimes forced to meet with grieving families virtually. There was debate about how morticians should best avoid contracting the disease, sometimes riddled with misinformation and confusion, Hamilton said. While her friends complained about being bored working from home, Hamilton was inundated with business. In the years since, the dust has settled in the death-care industry. But some changes are here to stay, funeral directors and death-care providers say, and consumers themselves are leading the charge. The kiva at Sunset Memorial Park, which contains an ossuary for cremated […]

Click here to view original web page at www.abqjournal.com

Zhang Shasha collects seedlings for sale at a seedlings greenhouse in Suning County, north China’s Hebei Province, Feb. 17, 2023. 33-year-old Zhang Shasha runs a specialized cooperative for vegetables based in Suning County, her hometown. She started this vegetables business together with her husband in 2015. From seedling cultivation to field planting skills, Zhang devoted herself to an all-round study in the vegetables industry and gradually grew into an expert. In 2021, she was recognized as an outstanding female agricultural entrepreneur by the All-China Women’s Federation and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. Currently Zhang’s specialized cooperative for vegetables has over 600 members. More than 70 categories of vegetables and fruits are being cultivated here throughout the year. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Zhang Shasha (L) checks on seedling growth at a greenhouse in Suning County, north China’s Hebei Province, Feb. 17, 2023. 33-year-old Zhang Shasha runs a specialized cooperative for vegetables based in Suning County, her hometown. She started this vegetables business together with her husband in 2015. From seedling cultivation to field planting skills, Zhang devoted herself to an all-round study in the vegetables industry and gradually grew into an expert. In 2021, she was recognized as […]

Click here to view original web page at english.news.cn

There were 60 minority businesses in attendance like Annelle Whitt, President of James, and Annelle Whitt Entrepreneurial Development Foundation which provides grant opportunities to minority and women entrepreneurs (KRCG 13/ Ciara Tate). Columbia — Black History Month has a different meaning for everyone but according to the Black Business Expo organizers, this month is about celebrating and supporting the advancement of Black Americans. Alejandra Gudino, the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with Columbia College said it’s important for black businesses to know that they are supported by the community. “We celebrate music. We celebrate art. We celebrate craftsmanship, but most of all we want the black community to know that we are here for you,” said Gudino. There were 60 minority businesses in attendance like Annelle Whitt, President of James, and Annelle Whitt Entrepreneurial Development Foundation which provides grant opportunities to minority and women entrepreneurs. Whitt said the organization strives to create generational wealth for such businesses. “The only thing we lack is the capital to get it done. So we are here to provide that. So I think this economy is going to grow as my husband use to say. We all do well when we all […]

Click here to view original web page at krcgtv.com

Abbott is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, in relation to their infant formula business, the company disclosed in a new SEC filing. Abbott said in a filing Friday that they received a subpoena from the SEC’s Enforcement Division in December 2022 requesting "information about its powder infant-formula business and related public disclosures." In January, Abbott "received a civil investigative demand" from the FTC seeking information in connection with the agency’s investigation of companies that bid for infant formula contracts with the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program through USDA . In this May 17, 2022, file photo, bottles of Similac baby formula are seen at empty baby formula section shelves at a store due to shortage in the availability of baby formula, in New Jersey.Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, FILE Abbott’s disclosure of these inquiries come after the Justice Department had already launched a criminal investigation into Abbott’s infant formula manufacturing conduct, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News, after contamination concerns triggered a massive recall and shutdown at their Sturgis, Michigan, plant last year. An Abbott spokesperson told ABC News […]

Click here to view original web page at abcnews.go.com

While lawmakers consider bringing the Legislature into the 21st century, they might also want to consider modernizing a Byzantine tax code that’s been shackling small businesses and deterring economic development for decades in New Mexico. “Tax pyramiding,” for example, is an archaic taxing tactic when the state levies taxes multiple times on the same goods or services. Once is often not good enough in New Mexico. Larger businesses, like manufacturers and corporate headquarters, have plenty of in-house accountants and lawyers. So they don’t feel the effect of pyramiding. Small businesses, on the other hand, typically have to contract for professional services, and then pay gross receipt taxes on those services. House Bill 367, supported by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and cosponsored by Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, Benny Shendo Jr., D-Jemez Pueblo, Joshua Hernandez, R-Rio Rancho, and John Block, R-Alamogordo, would create a gross receipts tax deduction for certain business-to-business services, a provision known as “anti-pyramiding.” The bill would also cut GRT base rates by one-quarter of 1%. Combined with a 0.25 percentage point drop over a two-year period approved by lawmakers last year, the state’s base GRT tax rate would drop to 4.625% in July. HB 367 is […]

Click here to view original web page at www.abqjournal.com

An electric vehicle charges on a New York street. Brussels plans to seek talks with the US over fresh subsidies for the sector © Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images European business groups and lawmakers have hit out at the White House after it announced fresh measures aimed at promoting investment in homegrown green technology. The support for American-made electric vehicle chargers, unveiled by the administration on Wednesday, comes after the US in August passed the $369bn Inflation Reduction Act , or IRA, containing hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits for US-manufactured clean technology. “Our most important trading partner decides things in their own interest,” said Luisa Santos, deputy director-general of BusinessEurope, which represents companies across the EU. “They keep doing this. But they want us to support them on China.” A spokesperson for DigitalEurope, which represents the continent’s technology sector, described the latest support as “like déjà vu ”. Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, its director-general, said: “The way to achieve our common climate goal is not through more ‘Buy American’ but through joint action and common standards.” The European Commission said it would seek talks with the US over the subsidies. “We must look for synergies and work to […]

Click here to view original web page at www.ft.com

The Bright Health team in sunnier days: its 2021 IPO Unable to deliver on enormous ambitions, Bright Health Group struggles to define a profitable course. O n paper, Bright Health Group was an investor’s dream. Led by experienced health insurance execs, the company promised a new approach. From early on, Bright touted a “narrow network” philosophy that worked closely with a small group of providers. The company’s target market wasn’t large employers or institutions; instead, it looked to sell individual health plans through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges, as well as Medicare Advantage plans for older Americans. Bright leaders heralded a new technology platform that would make the claims process easier for providers and patients alike. At its peak, Bright was valued at $11.2 billion, cementing its status as Minnesota’s first “unicorn” startup—a company valued at over $1 billion. It earned praise and recognition from startup boosters and investors, and even counted high-profile figures like Andy Slavitt, who ran Medicare and Medicaid in the Obama administration, on its board of directors. In a 2021 prospectus ahead of its eye-popping $924 million initial public offering that year, Bright noted that the company was serving more than 623,000 consumers across […]

Click here to view original web page at tcbmag.com

Students who major in electrical engineering, robotics engineering and computer science stand near a self-driving robot car in the robotics lab at the University of Hartford. Yehyun Kim / CT Mirror Manufacturing is merging with modern technology. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, sensors and robotics will soon become ubiquitous on many factory floors. But within Connecticut’s vaunted advanced manufacturing sector — which for decades has churned out jet engines, precision aircraft components, medical devices and semiconductor parts — adjusting to this “ Fourth Industrial Revolution ” is overextending small- and medium-sized businesses. It’s also creating growing needs for high-tech training and postsecondary certifications and degree programs at colleges and universities around the state. Related Stories Without a coordinated approach between business and higher education, state and industry leaders say, Connecticut’s advanced manufacturing sector could lose out to competitors. “The supply chain will not be teed up to meet the demands of this intense defense manufacturing in the state,” Sen. Joan Hartley, D-Waterbury, who co-chairs the General Assembly’s Commerce Committee, said. “And if we’ve got a pause in keeping that engine fueled, things are moving so fast, everybody around us is going to eat our lunch.” These new advancements in manufacturing […]

Click here to view original web page at ctmirror.org

Special to the Canton Repository Born and raised in Las Vegas, Juanita Gray moved to Massillon when she was 14 years old. She graduated from Massillon Washington High School where she ran track throughout high school and broke a lot of records while on the district’s girl’s relay team. Gray would receive a full ride track scholarship from Walsh University making her the first college graduate in her family. She earned a bachelor’s degree from in May 2022 in digital marketing. She is a child of deaf parents. “I grew up translating for my parents, and I am fluent in ASL (American Sign Language),” Gray said. “My mother taught me sign language when I was a baby, and I use it every day to communicate with my family.” She still lives in Massillon and works with the Stark County Minority Business Association . “I wanted to work for SCMBA because of my passion for entrepreneurship, helping people build their dreams, and being able to have a voice for those in the community that look like me," Gray said. "When I was in college, I started my own hair business to help pay for some expenses on campus such as […]

Click here to view original web page at www.cantonrep.com