The War Memorial Commission is a Greensboro City Council appointed, 10-member volunteer organization that serves as the Greensboro Coliseum Complex’s advisory board. Gatten had previously served as the Commission’s vice-chair and has been a member of the organization since 2008. She succeeds Mike Bumpass as chairperson and will serve in this position through September of 2011.

The Commission also elected McArthur Davis, as its new vice-chairman. Davis, president/CEO of Greensboro-based Nonprofit Development Institute Inc., has been a War Memorial Commission member since 2006.

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The FCC filed the court documents Wednesday with the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a move that was widely expected.

In July, the court’s three-judge panel said in a 32-page ruling that the FCC’s indecency rules were "unconstitutionally vague" and created "a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here."

The FCC’s Wednesday complaint claimed that the decision keeps it from enforcing indecency violations because it cannot develop a policy that would be specific enough to satisfy the panel.

The advocacy group Parents Television Council released a statement Thursday calling the FCC’s filing "an important step in the right direction. Without Supreme Court action, the Second Circuit ruling would kick down the door for indecent content to be aired at any time of day over the public airwaves."

The appellate court’s decision to strike down the FCC’s ban in July was a major milestone for television and radio broadcasters who have long complained the FCC’s rules violated First Amendment rights.

Several years ago, the FCC had levied fines on scripted expletives but had typically been more lenient about accidental profanities uttered during live shows high quality business cards.

But in 2003, U2 singer Bono swore while accepting an award on NBC. The network didn’t receive a fine, but the FCC warned that any profanities — including unscripted ones — could lead to fines in the future. In the following years, the FCC fined several networks for expletives uttered on live television.

In 2006, Fox Television, NBC Universal and several other broadcasters sued the FCC for what they said was a vague and unevenly enforced policy.

The case went to the Supreme Court, which said in April 2009 the FCC had enacted its policy correctly. But the higher court sent the case back to the Second Circuit Court to decide whether the policy was constitutional.

The FCC policy formed largely from a 1978 Supreme Court decision that allowed the commission to fine a radio station for airing late comedian George Carlin’s "Seven Dirty Words" monologue.

"We have always felt that the government’s position on fleeting expletives was unconstitutional," Fox Networks said in a statement, adding "the inherent challenges broadcasters face with live television … must allow for the unfortunate isolated instances where inappropriate language slips through." 

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Public Relations/Advertising

• Alpha Marketing hired Katharine Belloir as an account supervisor.

• Howard, Merrell & Partners hired Sarah Umstead Walker as an account executive.

Real Estate

• Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston hired Ken Trabucco as a sales associate in its Falls of Neuse Road office in Raleigh poor credit personal loans.

• Prudential York Simpson Underwood Realty hired Jim McDermott was a sales associate in its North Hills office in Raleigh.

• Fonville Morisey Realty hired Andrew Truesdale as a full-time sales associate in its Brier Creek office in Raleigh.

If you have promotions and new executive hirings at your workplace, please contact Cameron Snipes at csnipes@bizjournals.com.

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On Wednesday, American Airlines, owned by AMR Corp (AMR, Fortune 500)., unveiled its "express seat" offer, which allows passengers to pay extra to sit in the first few rows of coach.

The size of the fee depends on the flight, with longer flights charging more. American provided the following introductory fees: $19 for St. Louis to Chicago, $29 for San Francisco to Dallas/Fort Worth or from Boston to Chicago, and $39 for New York City to Los Angeles or from Honolulu to Chicago.

This is the just latest so-called "ancillary" fee for the hard-hit airline industry, which has been charging passengers in the last couple years for a number of services that were once included in the fare. This includes checked luggage, meals, non-alcoholic drinks, pillows, extra leg room and so on.

"[Passengers] were not able to choose these seats previously," said American Airlines spokeswoman Stacey Frantz cash till payday. "Now they can choose these specific seats, if they want them, for a small fee."

Frantz said that disabled passengers will continue to get priority seating for the front coach section, and they will not be charged extra for it.

While the ancillary fees have annoyed some passengers, it has proven to be a boon for the industry. The Air Transport Association of America reported last month that passenger revenue was on the rise for the first half of the year, including a 25% surge in June compared to the same period the year before. The fees were partly responsible for the increase.

When that report was released in July, ATA spokesman David Castelveter said the rise in revenue stemmed from "a combination of improving economic conditions, increase in business travel and revenue from ancillary fees." 

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The Mooresville-based company’s earnings totaled $832 million, or 58 cents per diluted share, in the latest quarter, up from $759 million, or 51 cents per share, a year ago.

Sales increased 3.7 percent to $14.4 million from $13.8 million in the second quarter of 2009. Sales at stores in operation for more than a year rose 1.6 percent.

For the first six months of 2010, Lowe’s earnings increased 7 percent to $1.32 billion.

“Longer term, we believe improvement in labor and housing markets will be necessary to support more consistent improvement in demand for home-improvement products,” says Robert Niblock, chairman and chief executive of Lowe’s.

Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) is the world’s second-largest home improvement retailer behind Atlanta-based The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD).

During the latest quarter, Lowe’s opened four stores and closed one. As of July 30, the chain operated 1,724 stores in North America.

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The event, which was first held on June 19 and will be held again on Nov. 18, is aimed at luring more visitors and shoppers to the historic, riverfront boroughs in Bucks County.

Two free trolleys ran continually from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., at times with standing room only, making stops at the Bristol Borough Wharf at the end of Mill Street, the Morrisville Shopping Center on Trenton Avenue, Buttonwood Park in Yardley and the corner of Bridge and Stockton streets in New Hope one hour payday loan.

The boroughs have largely struggled under the economic downturn, with the exception of New Hope which has had some 30 businesses arrive, expand or be in the process of expanding — most in the past year.

The four-year-old Landmark Towns of Bucks County program, administered by the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, is aimed at revitalizing the four boroughs by marketing their assets as a whole.

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The report cited William Keene, senior epidemiologist with Oregon Public Health, who speculated that some food — lettuce, tomatoes or both — carried the Salmonella Hartford and Salmonella Baildon strains.

In the Aug. 5 report, Keene said the outbreak isn’t severe enough for officials to warn people to stop eating at Taco Bell, which is a division of Louisville-based Yum! Brands Inc.

Officials with Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell could not immediately be reached for comment.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued an advisory about the outbreak, but did not refer to Taco Bell specifically. The warning states that there have been cases of salmonella linked to “Mexican-style fast food Restaurant Chain A.”

CDC officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Click here to see the full CDC report.

According to the CDC report, there were 80 identified cases of Salmonella Baildon and 75 cases of Salmonella Hartford, linked to the Mexican-style restaurant as of Aug. 1. The nationwide cases began this spring and peaked in early June, according to the CDC.

In Kentucky, there were 23 reported cases of Salmonella Hartford and five reported cases of Salmonella Baildon. In Indiana, there were 11 cases of Salmonella Hartford and four cases of Salmonella Baildon. No deaths were reported with either strain.

Gwenda Bond, assistant communications director for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, declined to identify the restaurant that the cases are linked to.

She said Kentucky health officials would not disclose the name of the restaurant chain unless the CDC decides to reveal it because there is “not so much of an ongoing threat” and releasing the name of the chain would be of “limited benefit” to consumers.

“There definitely has been a high correlation” between the outbreak and the Mexican-style restaurant identified by the CDC, she said, but “it hasn’t been linked to 100 percent of the cases.”

Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, director of the division of epidemiology and health planning for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said that 19 of the 30 Hartford and Baildon cases that have been reported in Kentucky since the outbreak began have been traced back to the Mexican-style restaurant chain, which he also declined to identify.

Many of the cases were in Madison county Kentucky and in areas around Lexington, Humbaugh said. Only a few cases were in the state’s North Central region, which includes Louisville.

Bond added that in the cases that have been linked to the Mexican-style restaurant chain, the tainted items have not been determined.

“That’s always difficult to determine because in a case like this, the food items don’t tend to hang around for too long,” Bond said.

Food samples were tested at one of the restaurants that were linked to the outbreak, but those tests were negative for salmonella, Humbaugh said.

It takes about two weeks from the time symptoms are presented to the time cases can be confirmed through laboratory testing, so it often is difficult to test food sources because tainted perishable food item supplies often have been used and replaced, Humbaugh said.

He added that U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials are examining the supply chain of the restaurant chain in an attempt to pinpoint the origin of the salmonella.

FDA officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

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CenterCal Properties LLC, which owns Bridgeport Village mall outside Portland, initiated the bankruptcy petition last May. CenterCal officials allege that the downtown Portland jeweler, which operates as Carl Greve Inc., is responsible for unpaid rent owed by Carl Greve LLC after the latter store moved out of its Bridgeport Village location last February.

The Bridgeport store was run by Carl “Tim” Greve IV, son of Carl “Nick” Greve III, who runs downtown’s Carl Greve location just off Pioneer Square.

The petition claims the stores operated as one business. Nick Greve said his downtown store operated independently from his son’s store in Bridgeport Village.

Carl Greve LLC owes Portland’s Integra Telecom $45,768.59, according to the motion. Portland’s Peter Corvallis Productions – an event rental agency – is owed $645.

CenterCal says Carl Greve owes it more than $46,000 in unpaid rent.

CenterCal had until Aug. 2 to find two other creditors to force the jeweler into involuntary bankruptcy. The petition was filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Oregon.

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The company noted that net income in the second quarter included $85 million after-tax from a favorable legal settlement. After-tax net realized gains on investments were $12.5 million for this year’s second quarter, compared with losses of $4 million in the second quarter of 2009.

Net earned premiums in the second quarter were $1.8 billion, down slightly from last year’s second quarter, which Assurant Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) attributed to a decline in premiums at its Assurant Solutions group.

For the first six months of 2010, Assurant Inc.’s net income increased 18 percent to $321.9 million, or $2.80 per diluted share, compared with $273.9 million, or $2.31 per diluted share, for the same period in 2009.

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Hayward took the helm in 2007 but has been harshly criticized as of late for his handling of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11 workers, and the subsequent disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Many accused him of acting insensitive to the effects of the tragedy on Gulf residents.

In a statement issued the same day that the British oil giant posted a second-quarter net loss of $17.2 billion, BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg noted that Hayward’s success in driving BP’s performance “was so widely and deservedly admired.”

However, he said that BP “will be a different company going forward, requiring fresh leadership supported by robust governance and a very engaged board.”

Dudley, 54, is also a BP director is currently in charge of the recently-established unit responsible for Gulf clean-up operations and compensation programs.

He joined BP from Amoco after the merger of the two companies in 1998 Online payday loans. He was president and CEO of BP's Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, until 2008.

"I am honored to be given the job of rebuilding BP's strengths and reputation but sad at the circumstances," Dudley said.

Dudley will be based in London and will hand over his present duties in the US to Lamar McKay, chairman and president of BP America.

Hayward will remain on the BP board until Nov. 30. BP also plans to nominate him as a non-executive director of TNK-BP and will pay him about $1.6 million, a year's salary, in lieu of notice.

Commenting on the decision to step down, Hayward said: "The Gulf of Mexico explosion was a terrible tragedy for which - as the man in charge of BP when it happened - I will always feel a deep responsibility, regardless of where blame is ultimately found to lie.”

The Houston Business Journal is providing continuous coverage of the Gulf oil spill.

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