| Young doctors in debt
It's Wednesday evening and Megan Reis can't remember when she last saw her husband Chris. Small wonder. Since Sunday morning, Meg has worked more than 60 hours at Advocate Hope Children's Hospital, the Chicago-area facility where she is training in pediatrics. Chris, meanwhile, has put in a 24-hour day followed by a 12-hour one at the nearby Loyola University Medical Center, where he's learning anesthesiology. Meg guesses she hasn't seen him since Saturday. Actually, Chris recalls later, it was Tuesday morning: They saw each other for 10 minutes in the parking garage of their nondescript condominium building, crossing paths as Chris returned from a marathon workday and Meg headed off to one in her parents' old Ford Escort. "She was actually late getting to work," says Chris.
Local Humane Society ready to leave cramped quarters behind
HICKORY -- The Humane Society of Catawba County is moving. Employees and volunteers are boxing up supplies. Shelves have been removed and desks and other items were sold during a yard sale. On Thursday, office furniture and any remaining supplies will be sent to the new facility, said Beth Hatley, Humane Society volunteer services manager. Currently, five employees and volunteers share a small office. The office also acts as the welcome center for folks to sign in to view animals and for volunteers to walk dogs. Three other employees share an even smaller building for their offices. That'll change soon, too. Each employee or regular volunteer will have his or her own office at the new facility, which is located in Fairgrove Business Park on Twentieth Avenue, SE. Folks filling out forms either for adoption or to volunteer will be able to do so in a private area.
Software watchdog zeroes in on "little guys"
Michael Gaertner worried he could lose his company. A group called the Business Software Alliance was claiming that his 10-person architectural firm was using unlicensed software. The alliance demanded $67,000 — most of one year's profit — or else it would seek more in court. "It just scared the hell out of me," Gaertner said. An analysis by The Associated Press reveals that targeting small businesses is lucrative for the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the main copyright-enforcement watchdog for such companies as Microsoft, Adobe Systems and Symantec. Of the $13 million that the BSA reaped in software-violation settlements with North American companies last year, almost 90 percent came from small businesses, The AP found.
Carbylan BioSurgery gets $20M in 2nd round
Carbylan BioSurgery Inc., a medical device company focused on medical products for osteoarthritis and chronic rhinosinusitis, said Monday it closed a second round of funding with $20 million. Palo Alto-based Carbylan said the financing was led by Palo Alto-based Vivo Ventures. Also participating were existing investors, San Francisco-based Alta Partners and InterWest Partners, which has an office in Menlo Park. In connection with the financing, Albert Cha of Vivo Ventures, will join Carbylan's board of directors. .
Thompson would offer a chance to use flat tax
Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson proposed an income tax plan Sunday that would allow Americans to choose a simplified system with only two rates: 10 percent and 25 percent. Thompson's proposal, announced on "Fox News Sunday," would allow filers to remain under the current, complex tax code or use the flat tax rates. Asked whether the plan would cut too deeply into federal revenues, the former Tennessee senator and actor said experts "always overestimate the losses to the government" when taxes are cut. .
Questions for Vice President Dick Cheney
Q: I've talked to a number of economists who provide advice to you, and say that you are very interested in business cycles. In late 2000 you were on "Meet the Press," and you actually predicted correctly, ahead of just about everybody, that a downturn was around the corner. That was Bill Clinton's economy. Now it's your economy. What's your candid assessment of it? THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, my track record as a forecaster, I'd go slow on. I did express the view that we were headed for a recession [in 2000]. Part of that, frankly, was based on my time [as] a corporate CEO and serving on several boards. I don't serve in those positions today and so I have a different perspective and also obviously different access to data. And I don't want to try to repeat that so-called success story.
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