Margins are extremely tight for most small businesses, which is why the recession has hit them especially hard. On Numbers defines a small business as any private-sector establishment with fewer than 100 employees. Their limited size can make it difficult to maneuver when times get tough. Substantial layoffs, for example, are rarely an option. There were 6.96 million small businesses in the nation's 938 metropolitan and micropolitan areas as of 2008, the first full year of the recession. That figure dropped 2 percent to 6…

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Dayton Brand Madness Round 2, Match 16 Hobart vs. The Pine Club Welcome to Dayton Brand Madness! We’ve taken 64 of Dayton’s most famous and iconic brands and matched them up, NCAA tourney-style. Click here to see the polls for all the matchups. Our next matchup is between a manufacturer and a steakhouse: Hobart vs. The Pine Club And remember, each days polls are only up for 24 hours. The winner of each match advances while the loser must wait until next year. Friday will begin the fourth round, as the competition will be down to 16 brands.

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Dayton Brand Madness Round 2, Match 14 Midmark vs. Greater Dayton RTA Welcome to Dayton Brand Madness! We’ve taken 64 of Dayton’s most famous and iconic brands and matched them up, NCAA tourney-style. Click here to see the polls for all the matchups. Our next matchup is between a medical manufacturer and a transportation provider: Midmark vs. Greater Dayton RTA And remember, each days polls are only up for 24 hours. When done casting your vote below, CLICK HERE to move on to next matchup: Hot Head Burritos vs…

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Dayton Brand Madness Round 2, Match 15 Hot Head Burritos vs. Fricker’s Welcome to Dayton Brand Madness! We’ve taken 64 of Dayton’s most famous and iconic brands and matched them up, NCAA tourney-style. Click here to see the polls for all the matchups. Our next matchup is between a burrito shop and a chicken wing restaurant: Hot Head Burritos vs. Fricker’s And remember, each days polls are only up for 24 hours. When done casting your vote below, CLICK HERE to move on to next matchup: Hobart vs…

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Dayton Brand Madness Round 2, Match 13 Day Air Credit Union vs. Wright-Patt Credit Union Welcome to Dayton Brand Madness! We’ve taken 64 of Dayton’s most famous and iconic brands and matched them up, NCAA tourney-style. Click here to see the polls for all the matchups. Our next matchup is between two credit unions: Day Air Credit Union vs. Wright-Patt Credit Union And remember, each days polls are only up for 24 hours. When done casting your vote below, CLICK HERE to move on to next matchup: Midmark vs…

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In a World AIDS Day event Wednesday in Albany, a University at Buffalo volunteer health educator was among youth groups and individuals recognized for their efforts to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and to assist individuals with HIV or AIDS. Dr. Nirav Shah, state Department of Health Commissioner, presented the awards Nov. 30 to individuals who have shown leadership, compassion and extraordinary efforts in raising awareness of HIV/AIDS in schools or communities. Among those honored was Demire Coffin-Williams, a UB student studying psychology and legal studies…

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New rules released Wednesday call for shrimp and crab harvesters and processors to receive double the money from the Gulf oil spill claims operation. According to the Press-Register, a lawyer for shrimpers and crabbers criticized the change as “woefully inadequate,” and said that it doesn’t account for the high fixed costs associated with the industries. The new Gulf Coast Claims Facility rules give any commercial crab or shrimp harvester or processor either four times the amount that they can document having lost in 2010 due to the spill, or their total documented losses to date, whichever is larger.

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Even with a settlement that provides for students to get smaller tuition payments than they expected, a financial expert says Alabama's prepaid college tuition plan will run short of money in 2017. According to the Associated Press, actuary Daniel Sherman of Buck Consultants discussed the situation Wednesday with the board of the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition plan. Sherman said the $548 million in extra funding provided by the Alabama Legislature over a 13-year period won't come in fast enough to pay all the tuition costs, and the plan will be short of money from 2017 through 2025.

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Jennifer Dotson, the executive director for Mother’s Against Drunk Driving Hawaii, is no longer with the nonprofit organization. MADD Field Director Kevin Watkins will be the interim executive director until a new person is found. He told PBN that MADD Hawaii had to make a “difficult decision to make the change in leadership.” He would not say if Dotson had been fired or if she quit on her own terms. She had been with MADD Hawaii for two years. Watkins says a search for a new executive director will begin as early as next week…

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A group led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is reportedly very close to making a $20-a-share offer to buy all of Yahoo Inc., trumping bids made earlier this week that were said to top out at $17.50 for minority stakes. Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday that the Chinese Internet giant Alibaba, Softbank Corp., Bain Capital LLC and Blackstone Group LP were in advanced talks and close to making a bid, citing unnamed sources. Alibaba has long wanted to buy back the 40 percent stake that in the Chinese company…

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