November 11, 2016 at 8:17 p.m.
Accident leads to OSHA fines
Business Roundup
POET, the parent company of POET Biorefining-Portland, and a construction company working on one of its plants in South Dakota face OSHA fines of nearly $100,000 in connection with the death of a pipefitter last May.
OSHA has proposed a penalty of $37,413 for POET Biorefining-Hudson for failing to inform contractors working at the ethanol plant of potential hazards and failures to ensure safe work practices, according to the trade publication Construction Equipment.
The construction company Bilfinger-Westcon faces proposed penalties of $62,355 for conducting welding operations in an area where flammable liquids could be present, failure to provide flame-retardant clothing, and not training workers properly.
A 38-year-old pipefitter was burned to death while working at the South Dakota plant on May 6. Another welder was injured in the incident.
"This death was needless and preventable if critical safety standards had been followed," Sheila Stanley, OSHA's area director in Sioux Falls, said in an official statement. "Communication between the host employer and all contractors is critical in working safely at any site covered by the Process Safety Management Standard. All aspects of permit systems including 'hot work' and line break must be implemented to ensure that welding activities do not occur near line break activities where flammable materials may be released.”
CrossRoads honored
CrossRoads Financial Federal Credit Union was awarded first place for the 2016 Desjardins Youth Financial Literacy Award in its assets category.
The credit union has a youth advisory board and conducts a financial literacy program.
The youth advisory board includes five Jay County High School juniors, five seniors, and one college freshman.
The CrossRoads entry now moves to the national competition where it will compete with other projects in the $50-$250 million asset category.
New administrator
Amanda Hirschy is the new administrator at Crown Pointe, Portland’s assisted living facility.
Raised in Portland, she attended Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology.
For three years, she served as administrator at Chalet Village Health and Rehabilitation Center in Berne. Prior to that role, she was social service director at Chalet Village.
Crown Pointe’s next step in 2017 is to become state licensed, which will allow it to be able to take Medicaid waivers. That will allow residents to stay at Crown Pointe longer.
Another lawsuit
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was sued this week on behalf of customers who said the company sold falsely-labled textiles. The products were labeled “100% Egyptian Cotton” but allegedly came from an Indian textile company.
Reuters said the plaintiff believes she overpaid because of the mislabeling and advertising.
"We plan to vigorously defend the company," a Wal-Mart spokesman told Reuters. He added that the company removed such products after conducting a comprehensive review nearly two months ago. Customers have been offered customers a full refund.
Loses to Walgreens
CVS Health Inc. expects to lose 40 million retail prescriptions to rival Walgreens Boots Alliance, The Boston Globe reported this week.
Walgreens has devloped new partnerships that exclude CVS drugstores from their networks.
Loss of the 40 million prescriptions had an immediate impact on CVS’s earning projections.
“While many view CVS as primarily a drugstore chain, a cornerstone of its operations is its business managing pharmacy benefits through CVS/Caremark, the second largest such business in the United States,” the Globe reported.
“Insurance companies and employers hire pharmacy benefits managers such as CVS/Caremark to act as middlemen between insurance companies and corporations, negotiating prices and handling drug costs on their behalf. CVS/Caremark has more than 80 million plan members,” the Globe said.
Unhappy Italians
McDonald’s is suing Florence, Italy, for $20 million in damages because it was refused a licensing application near Il Duomo, a historic cathedral, The Guardian reported this week.
“McDonald’s has the right to submit an application because this is permitted under the law, but we also have the right to say no,” Mayor Dario Nardella was quoted as saying.
Florence attracts millions of tourists annually, and the cathedral plaza, the Piazza De Duomo, is its most visited site.
City officials there introduced new licensing requirements in January in an attempt to protect historic sites and assist local businesses. Plans for a McDonald’s at that location drew 24,000 signatures on a protest petition.
“We completely agree that the cultural and artistic heritage and the Italian historical town centers have to be protected,” the company said in a formal statement. “But we cannot accept discriminatory regulations that damage the freedom of private initiative without helping anyone.”
Distribution center
Dollar General is planning to build a $91 million distribution center not far from the New York State Thruway, a move that could create more than 500 new jobs in the Albany, New York, area.
The company, which is the second-largest dollar store chain in the country, plans to construct a 750,000-square-foot building on a 100-acre site to serve its stores in the Northeast.
It will receive $4.2 million in sales tax incentives and $12 million in property tax breaks.
New branch
MainSource Financial Group is opening a new branch in Indianapolis, adding to the more than 90 it has in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois.
The new branch is east of 96th Street and Keystone Avenue on Indy’s northeasts side.
Branch moving
First Merchants Bank plans to move its downtown Anderson location early next year, The Herald-Bulletin reported this week.
The branch will move from 33 W. 10th St., to 800 Main St.
Trump impact?
Comcast’s stock price jumped this week on speculation that President-elect Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Congrees will ease up on communications regulation beginning next year.
Tom Wheeler, the current chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has been at odds with the cable television industry over issues ranging from internet regulation to broadband data privacy, Investor’s Business Daily reported.
"If the rhetoric of those surrounding Trump's campaign rings true, we can expect a Republican FCC to make a big push to roll back some of the regulations put in place under President Obama, such as the Title II/net neutrality rules," said Jennifer Fritzsche, a Well Fargo analyst, in a research report.
cited by the website.
OSHA has proposed a penalty of $37,413 for POET Biorefining-Hudson for failing to inform contractors working at the ethanol plant of potential hazards and failures to ensure safe work practices, according to the trade publication Construction Equipment.
The construction company Bilfinger-Westcon faces proposed penalties of $62,355 for conducting welding operations in an area where flammable liquids could be present, failure to provide flame-retardant clothing, and not training workers properly.
A 38-year-old pipefitter was burned to death while working at the South Dakota plant on May 6. Another welder was injured in the incident.
"This death was needless and preventable if critical safety standards had been followed," Sheila Stanley, OSHA's area director in Sioux Falls, said in an official statement. "Communication between the host employer and all contractors is critical in working safely at any site covered by the Process Safety Management Standard. All aspects of permit systems including 'hot work' and line break must be implemented to ensure that welding activities do not occur near line break activities where flammable materials may be released.”
CrossRoads honored
CrossRoads Financial Federal Credit Union was awarded first place for the 2016 Desjardins Youth Financial Literacy Award in its assets category.
The credit union has a youth advisory board and conducts a financial literacy program.
The youth advisory board includes five Jay County High School juniors, five seniors, and one college freshman.
The CrossRoads entry now moves to the national competition where it will compete with other projects in the $50-$250 million asset category.
New administrator
Amanda Hirschy is the new administrator at Crown Pointe, Portland’s assisted living facility.
Raised in Portland, she attended Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology.
For three years, she served as administrator at Chalet Village Health and Rehabilitation Center in Berne. Prior to that role, she was social service director at Chalet Village.
Crown Pointe’s next step in 2017 is to become state licensed, which will allow it to be able to take Medicaid waivers. That will allow residents to stay at Crown Pointe longer.
Another lawsuit
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was sued this week on behalf of customers who said the company sold falsely-labled textiles. The products were labeled “100% Egyptian Cotton” but allegedly came from an Indian textile company.
Reuters said the plaintiff believes she overpaid because of the mislabeling and advertising.
"We plan to vigorously defend the company," a Wal-Mart spokesman told Reuters. He added that the company removed such products after conducting a comprehensive review nearly two months ago. Customers have been offered customers a full refund.
Loses to Walgreens
CVS Health Inc. expects to lose 40 million retail prescriptions to rival Walgreens Boots Alliance, The Boston Globe reported this week.
Walgreens has devloped new partnerships that exclude CVS drugstores from their networks.
Loss of the 40 million prescriptions had an immediate impact on CVS’s earning projections.
“While many view CVS as primarily a drugstore chain, a cornerstone of its operations is its business managing pharmacy benefits through CVS/Caremark, the second largest such business in the United States,” the Globe reported.
“Insurance companies and employers hire pharmacy benefits managers such as CVS/Caremark to act as middlemen between insurance companies and corporations, negotiating prices and handling drug costs on their behalf. CVS/Caremark has more than 80 million plan members,” the Globe said.
Unhappy Italians
McDonald’s is suing Florence, Italy, for $20 million in damages because it was refused a licensing application near Il Duomo, a historic cathedral, The Guardian reported this week.
“McDonald’s has the right to submit an application because this is permitted under the law, but we also have the right to say no,” Mayor Dario Nardella was quoted as saying.
Florence attracts millions of tourists annually, and the cathedral plaza, the Piazza De Duomo, is its most visited site.
City officials there introduced new licensing requirements in January in an attempt to protect historic sites and assist local businesses. Plans for a McDonald’s at that location drew 24,000 signatures on a protest petition.
“We completely agree that the cultural and artistic heritage and the Italian historical town centers have to be protected,” the company said in a formal statement. “But we cannot accept discriminatory regulations that damage the freedom of private initiative without helping anyone.”
Distribution center
Dollar General is planning to build a $91 million distribution center not far from the New York State Thruway, a move that could create more than 500 new jobs in the Albany, New York, area.
The company, which is the second-largest dollar store chain in the country, plans to construct a 750,000-square-foot building on a 100-acre site to serve its stores in the Northeast.
It will receive $4.2 million in sales tax incentives and $12 million in property tax breaks.
New branch
MainSource Financial Group is opening a new branch in Indianapolis, adding to the more than 90 it has in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois.
The new branch is east of 96th Street and Keystone Avenue on Indy’s northeasts side.
Branch moving
First Merchants Bank plans to move its downtown Anderson location early next year, The Herald-Bulletin reported this week.
The branch will move from 33 W. 10th St., to 800 Main St.
Trump impact?
Comcast’s stock price jumped this week on speculation that President-elect Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Congrees will ease up on communications regulation beginning next year.
Tom Wheeler, the current chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has been at odds with the cable television industry over issues ranging from internet regulation to broadband data privacy, Investor’s Business Daily reported.
"If the rhetoric of those surrounding Trump's campaign rings true, we can expect a Republican FCC to make a big push to roll back some of the regulations put in place under President Obama, such as the Title II/net neutrality rules," said Jennifer Fritzsche, a Well Fargo analyst, in a research report.
cited by the website.
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