A photo from last year’s CDA graduation. Photo by Quisha Ray Photography. LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 27, 2023) — As part of the University of Kentucky’s plan to progress the institution toward diversity, equity and inclusion, the university created the "Expand Supplier Diversity Purchasing Program" initiative in 2020. Led by Barry Swanson, UK’s chief procurement officer, the initiative sought to expand UK’s supplier diversity procurement efforts. This led to the hiring of Marilyn Clark , who began her work as UK’s first supplier diversity manager in 2021. However, the nationwide history of supplier diversity began much earlier. “Minority business development was born out of the civil rights movement," Clark said. "On March 5, 1969, less than one year after Dr. King’s assassination, President Richard Nixon, signed Executive Order 11458, creating the Office of Minority Business Enterprise. This executive order created a federal agency focused on minority business development and opened the doors for Black and brown business owners to have access to government contracts. This agency is now known as the Minority Business Development Agency. After more than 50 years, this agency was recently codified as a permanent federal agency.” This focus on minority business development paved the way to […]

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It’s been a painful couple of years for renters. Discounts from early in the pandemic, for those lucky enough to nab them, eventually gave way to hefty rent hikes . Lines for apartment viewings stretched for city blocks , and bidding wars erupted . Across the country, the rallying cry remained the same: The rent is too damn high . Look closely, though, and you’ll see that 2023 is shaping up to be the year that tenants claw back bargaining power from landlords. It may not feel that way just yet, but double-digit rent increases and eye-watering lease demands are now a thing of the past. RealPage, a real-estate-software company, declared in a report last month that the market was "rapidly shifting in favor of renters." A rise in the number of empty apartments, a decline in the number of people looking for a place of their own, and a coming influx of apartment supply will force landlords to compete more fiercely for tenants. And when landlords compete, tenants win — with concessions like months of free rent, free parking, and gift cards. There’s even a chance some Americans will see their rent go down this year. According to […]

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More than a name and a pretty logo, a brand is a feeling — purchased in trust, maintained by consistency, and rewarded with loyalty. That matters more than ever in real estate, which is an increasingly competitive industry operating in times when people and capital have more international mobility than ever before. In such a climate, alliances between smaller players and powerful, established brands are invaluable to shaping consumer perception in the marketplace, presenting an exciting value proposition for real estate entrepreneurs looking to differentiate their companies and grow their bottom line. Corcoran has become one of the fastest-growing real estate franchises in the game 1 , and as Manhattan’s top-ranked brokerage 2 , Corcoran leads the market in one of the world’s major global real estate cities. Its strength in sales numbers had already postured the brokerage’s own breakout expansions to the Hamptons as well as South Florida’s Miami and Palm Beach regions — three of America’s most influential (and equally international) luxury resort markets. Corcoran follows a simple guiding principle: Put relationships first and the transactions will follow. The brand’s tagline, “Live Who You Are,” is infused in every aspect of its business, an inclusive human-first approach […]

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A woman works on her laptop outside of the US Supreme Court on Feb. 22, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Taft Stettinius & Hollister’s Sohan Dasgupta analyzes the potential impact of the US Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern on business activities in states. Courts are divided on whether a state may require a corporation to consent to personal jurisdiction as a prerequisite for doing business in that state. The US Supreme Court soon will decide, in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co . , whether the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause allows a state to mandate that. That Clause says, “No State shall … deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Pennsylvania Law Pennsylvania’s long-arm statute says a foreign corporation “may not do business in this Commonwealth until it registers” with the Commonwealth’s Department of State. Pennsylvania law also says that “qualification as a foreign corporation under the laws of this Commonwealth” enables state courts to exercise general jurisdiction over those defendants, just by virtue of such a corporation’s mandatory registration. The Commonwealth’s courts concluded that state law’s assuming a defendant’s “voluntary consent to Pennsylvania courts’ exercise of general personal […]

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Law firm strategist Patrick McKenna advises law firm leaders on how they can help their business development professionals contribute value to the benefit of the firm, and integrate their initiatives with other teams. A law firm leader recently approached me and shared that he was looking for a new marketing director, who would report to him. He admitted he didn’t completely understand what these marketing professionals do, or what direction he should provide. Marketing and business development leaders often interact with partners who wonder, “What are those marketing people really contributing, other than increased costs?” Many business development professionals have told me they spend too much time having to justify their existence within the firm. Reflecting on those different perspectives, I suggested that the law firm leader consider taking some specific, proactive actions to maximize business development resources and better collaborate on expectations with that department. Keep the Bell Curve in Mind In most firms, irrespective of size, you can place all partners across a bell curve. Ten percent originate the work, 80% do the work, and with the remaining 10%, you feed their work through the top of the door and pull it out the bottom, but never […]

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ROME, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Morale amongst Italian businesses was steady in February, while consumer confidence rose, data showed on Monday. National statistics institute ISTAT’s manufacturing confidence index was unchanged at 102.8 this month. The January figure was previously given as 102.7. ISTAT’s composite business morale index, combining surveys of the manufacturing, retail, construction and services sectors, was also unchanged at 109.1 thanks to improved sentiment among retailers, while morale in the service and construction sectors dipped. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story Advertisement · Scroll to continue Consumer confidence this month climbed to 104.0 from 100.9 in January. ISTAT said the rise was due to positive expectations for the general economic outlook and improving assessments of both the advisability of making purchases in the short term and the possibility of saving in the future. Despite facing many headwinds, the euro zone’s third largest economy has appeared to be holding up better than expected a few months despite high energy costs exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Latest Updates European shares kicks off week on solid footing, all sectors rise Upbeat earnings help FTSE 100 rebound from last week’s selloff Germany’s Commerzbank makes DAX comeback […]

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A general view of ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 29, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike DUBAI, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) will increase the stake in its gas business being offered in an initial public offering to 5% from 4%, the state oil giant said on Monday. ADNOC made the decision to increase the stake in the ADNOC Gas offering "based on significant investor demand across all tranches," it said in a statement. The decision was also made to create a "supportive trading environment for the company’s stock post-admission," it added. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story Advertisement · Scroll to continue As a result, the retail tranche has been increased from 10% to 12% of the offering. ADNOC also raised the tranche reserved for employees and United Arab Emirates national retirees of ADNOC Group companies residing in the country to 4% from 2%. The remaining 84% of the offering has been reserved for institutional investors. ADNOC is selling roughly 3.84 billion shares in its gas business, equivalent to about 5% of its issued share capital. The price range for ADNOC Gas was set last week at 2.25 […]

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St. Augustine Prep’s new elementary school building will be complete by the 2023-’24 academic year. Nearly 30 years ago, Milwaukee’s business community threw its weight behind a hoped-for solution to improving educational outcomes in the city. Stagnating graduation rates in Milwaukee Public Schools and even lower college completion rates pushed for-profit leaders to wade into the contentious political waters of school choice. “There was just a tremendous challenge in finding Want to Read the Entire Article? Become a BizTimes Insider today and get immediate access to our subscriber-only content and much more. Become an Insider Now Already an Insider? Log In

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This edition launches our 2023 Quarterly Roundtable Series, which will appear in print, online and on video. The series is sponsored by iSynergy , a digital marketing agency based in Canfield that provides branding, web design, content marketing and search engine marketing services. Participants in the Business Technology Roundtable, held Feb. 7 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Canfield, were Steve Cross , president and CEO of iSynergy, Canfield; Tim Petrey , managing partner of HD Davis CPAs, Liberty Township; Robert Merva , owner, president and CEO of Avrem Technologies LLC, Canfield; Jim Rosenberg , president and CEO of NEO3, New Middletown; Dave Galioto , chief information officer of Executive Computer Management Solutions Inc., Struthers; Chris Wheatley , director of IT services at Peak I.T., Boardman; and Ralph Zerbonia , president and CEO of Universe Central Corp., Youngstown. The Business Journal: Briefly describe your area of expertise as it relates to business technology and applications for business. What services or products does your company provide that incorporates the latest business technology? Steve Cross, CEO, iSynergy Digital Marketing Agency: When you do marketing well, you integrate. And in today’s world, you have to integrate with a lot of different platforms. […]

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Danny de Gracia is a resident of Waipahu, a political scientist and an ordained minister. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views. You can reach him by email at dgracia@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @ddg2cb . As someone continuing to suffer from post-Covid condition , I have become acutely aware of in recent months of the need to find the delicate equilibrium between pushing too hard and not doing enough. I might be described by some as a Type A personality, so having any kind of limits or speed brake on what I can do is one of the most annoying things that I’ve experienced yet. Push too hard, and new injuries or problems arise. Don’t push enough, and the existing disease continues to plague you, or gets worse from inaction. To have to chase a moving target of benchmarks that change every day is the very definition of frustration. I mention this because running a local government is a lot like suffering from a pesky chronic disease. In many cases, you can’t actually “cure” what’s wrong. But, with well-informed attention to detail and discipline, you can manage the problems so […]

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