Overview: The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity has announced the launch of the Economic Opportunity Grant program for small and microbusinesses The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has announced the launch of the first phase of the Economic Opportunity Grant (EOG) program for small and microbusinesses, and non-profit agencies in LA County. EOG will award more than $54 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds across 6,800 grants in a phased rollout to regions and organizations adversely affected by COVID-19. Eligible grantees may be awarded between $2,500 and $25,000 and can access on-demand application assistance, one-on-one online and in-person technical support, and pipelines to other County programs, grants, and contracting opportunities available to support post-pandemic recovery. DEO has partnered with Lendistry and the L.A. Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) to create a central application portal for this grant and future grant opportunities, and to facilitate direct concierge support. During Phase One, LA County’s smallest and most vulnerable businesses under $50k in annual gross revenue will be able to apply for grants of $2,500, funded by the State. Phase Two, funded by ARPA, will also be available to microbusinesses but will expand to […]

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By Mark C. Carroll This is the perfect time of year to think ahead and consider investing in ourselves and our community. Our time on the planet is increasingly limited, so why not make a change or try something new before goals turn to regret. While not all goals can be achieved in the garden, if some of yours do, the Western Tidewater Master Gardeners can provide opportunities and resources to help. Master Gardeners are not the only source of information or the only place to learn and grow, but it’s a great place to start. In this article, I hope to get you underway on course for your next gardening educational journey. Newsletter For information about the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program, start here, https://ext.vt.edu/lawn-garden/master-gardener.html. Almost every region, county or independent city in Virginia has a Master Gardener program, so if you are not local, you can seek out a group in your area. In addition to Master Gardener classes, the VCE publications and resources site at https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/ is a great place to locate information for self-study. The VCE facebook page https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaCooperativeExtension/ posts researched content, Webex classes or other events, and information for both commercial growers and […]

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A Ukrainian recruit looks through the viewfinder of a Raytheon Technologies FGM-148 Javelin surface-to-air missile while training with UK armed forces in southern England on October 11, 2022. By Marcus Weisgerber Raytheon Technologies will combine its missiles and defense division and intelligence and space division into a single business unit, the company announced Tuesday. The move comes as the company looks for ways to cut costs amid high inflation and supply chain disruptions that executives expect to ease later this year. “This will better align us with our customers’ needs and allow us to better collaborate on next-generation technology,” CEO Greg Hayes said Tuesday during the company’s quarterly earnings call. The reorganization will create three divisions at Raytheon Technologies: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. Raytheon also named COO Christopher Calio its president effective March 1. Calio is overseeing the merging of the missiles and defense and intelligence and space divisions. “I’ve been focused with our team on driving operational performance and program execution, as well as identifying ways to improve our cost position and to ensure alignment between our investments and our strategic priorities,” Calio said. Related articles Defense Business Brief: AFA conference preview; Raytheon loses $2B […]

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The Department of Defense (DoD) released its Small Business Strategy today. The strategy promotes a strong, dynamic, and robust small business industrial base by focusing on reducing barriers to entry, increasing set-aside competitions, and leveraging programs to grow the industrial base. “From manufacturers providing the critical parts that we need for our arsenal – to technology companies developing innovative systems and capabilities – small businesses are vital along the entire spectrum of the Department’s needs,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks said. “Reducing barriers and creating more opportunities for small businesses will allow us to expand, innovate, and diversify, increasing our warfighter advantage, strengthening our supply chains, increasing competition in our marketplace, and growing our economy here at home.” Small businesses make up 99.9 percent of all U.S. businesses as well as 73 percent of companies in the defense industrial base, and last year small businesses were awarded over 25 percent of all DoD prime contracts. As the economic engine of our nation, small businesses create jobs, generate innovation, and are essential, daily contributors to national security and the defense mission. This strategy will help DoD harness the full potential of small businesses through three objectives: implement a […]

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A nurse fills test tubes with blood to be tested during a bloodmobile in Fullerton, CA on Thursday, January 20, 2022. Three schools in Florida sold 7,600 fake credentials to nursing license applicants, officials said. The faux diplomas and transcripts qualified applicants for the national nursing board exam. They would have allowed buyers to potentially skip thousands of clinical trainings, prosecutors said. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Up to 7,600 people across the US may be using fake nursing credentials from a scheme run by Florida nursing schools selling diplomas, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. Employees and owners of three accredited schools — Palm Beach School of Nursing, Siena College, and Sacred Heart International Institute — are accused by the Justice Department of selling 7,600 diplomas and transcripts to people seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses and […]

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New York CNN — Normally, prices at the gas pump drift lower during the dead of winter as lousy weather keeps Americans off the roads. But something unusual is happening this year: Gas prices are rocketing higher. The national average for regular gas jumped to $3.51 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA. Although that’s a far cry from the record of $5.02 a gallon last June, gas prices have increased by 12 cents in the past week and 41 cents in the past month. All told, the national average has climbed by more than 9% since the end of last year – the biggest increase to start a year since 2009, according to Bespoke Investment Group. AAA says some states have experienced much bigger gains over the past month, including Colorado (98 cents), Georgia (70 cents), Delaware (62 cents), Ohio (60 cents) and Florida (59 cents). Americans are spending an extra $371 a month because of inflation The unusual wintertime jump in gas price is drawing eye rolls from American drivers already grappling with high prices at the supermarket. It also threatens to undermine improvements in the inflation crisis that gripped the economy much of last year. So, […]

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Growing up in San Francisco, Grace Young watched her father shop daily in Chinatown for whatever he needed to make traditional Cantonese meals at home. “He would say, ‘Ah, I saw the delivery guy arrive with these cases of fresh baby bok choy so I got some,’ or ‘I saw the butcher carry a whole pig into the shop, so I followed him in and got a cut,’” she recalls. As an award-winning cookbook author and culinary historian, Ms. Young, 66, has spent decades shopping the same way in New York’s Chinatown, going to one store for meats, another for produce. When Ms. Young saw these familiar streets empty out at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, she sensed that a way of life she had taken for granted was suddenly under threat. Misinformation about Asian-Americans carrying the virus hit Chinese businesses especially hard. “Waiters were just standing around, businesses were losing up to 80% of their customers,” she recalls over a stir fry of cauliflower and snow pea shoots at the Mee Sum Café on Pell Street, amid the thrum of preparations for the Chinese New Year celebration, which runs through Feb. 5. “I realized I […]

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Dennis Porter, of Satoshi Action Fund. Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images A new advocate for bitcoin miners, Satoshi Action Fund, believes that securing the oldest cryptocurrency could be an effective way to finance a longstanding environmental problem in the United States: orphaned gas wells. Why it matters: The Environmental Defense Fund released a map in 2021 of 81,000 wells with no owner of record. While there are federal funds available to aid in sealing these wells, it’s still a daunting task. Dennis Porter, founder of the organization, is pushing policy for bitcoin miners to step in, use the last remaining gas to mine, and then seal the well and move on. Driving the news: On Wednesday, the organization made its first presentation in the halls of the U.S. Congress, in a Senate briefing room, to 30 to 40 people from around 10 congressional offices. In operation since June 2022, the nascent group has made presentations to state legislators across the country. What they’re saying: Porter’s message to legislators was: "Bitcoin mining is a business that doubles as a piece of grid infrastructure," he said in an interview. "It is particularly good at reducing methane […]

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A 1977 Nike memo describing the company’s "principles" In 1977, Nike executive Rob Strasser typed a list of 10 company "principles." The raw and unfiltered list captures the irreverence and combativeness of early Nike employees. The memo’s been recirculating on social media in recent months. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In 1977, Nike was at an inflection point. The company, still known at the time as Blue Ribbon Sports, was growing, but it had already been kicked out of two banks and it had yet to launch its industry-shaking Air sneakers. Michael Jordan was still playing high school basketball. Sales that year: $28.7 million. The company employed fewer than 1,000 people. It had yet to go public or become anything like the blue-chip, $46.7 billion, 79,000-employee colossus it is today. And most importantly: The federal government had just […]

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Air France has just launched a plush new long-haul business cabin on one of its Boeing 777-200ER planes complete with sliding doors and redesigned seats. (CNN) — The airline debuted the impressive 48-seat business class cabin, first announced last year, on a flight from Paris to New York on January 20. The new seats can be converted into a flat bed measuring almost two meters, and also come with a sliding door to create "a totally private space." Air France has introduced its new 48-seat business class cabin. Entertainment amenities come in the form of a 17.3-inch 4K high-definition entertainment screen, as well as noise-reducing headsets, and a Bluetooth connection allowing passengers to use their own headphones.. While all of the seats have direct access to the aisle, those in the center are fitted with a central panel that can be lowered when passengers are flying together. The new cabin will be available to business class travelers heading to New York, Rio de Janeiro and Dakar, Senegal this winter. It’ll be rolled out to other destinations throughout the course of the year as more of the planes are refurbished. The redesigned seats can be converted into a flat bed […]

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