Berkshire completes deal to buy Omaha World-Herald

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2011 file photo, U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during a news conference at the headquarters of cemented carbide tool supplier Tungaloy Corporation after inaugurating its new factory in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan. Buffett said Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, Berkshire Hathaway is buying the Omaha World-Herald Co. and expanding the firm's newspaper holdings despite Buffett's misgivings about the industry. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2011 file photo, U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during a news conference at the headquarters of cemented carbide tool supplier Tungaloy Corporation after inaugurating its new factory in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan. Buffett said Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, Berkshire Hathaway is buying the Omaha World-Herald Co. and expanding the firm's newspaper holdings despite Buffett's misgivings about the industry. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks on the sale of the Omaha World-Herald to Berkshire Hathaway Wednesday Nov. 30, 2011 in Omaha Neb. The sale is pending approval of the World-Herald's shareholders. (AP Photo, The Omaha World-Herald, Jeff Bundy) MAGS OUT TV OUT, LOCAL TV OUT

Terry Kroeger, President and Publisher of the Omaha World-Herald Company introduces Warren Buffett Wednesday Nov. 30, 2011 in Omaha Neb. The sale is pending approval of the World-Herald's shareholders. (AP Photo, The Omaha World-Herald, Jeff Bundy) MAGS OUT TV OUT, LOCAL TV OUT

The Omaha World Herald building is seen in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway said Wednesday that it is buying Buffett's hometown newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald Co. and expanding the firm's newspaper holdings despite Buffett's misgivings about the industry. Terms of the deal, which must be approved by the Omaha World-Herald's employee owners and other shareholders, weren't disclosed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks on the sale of the Omaha World-Herald to Berkshire Hathaway Wednesday Nov. 30, 2011 in Omaha Neb. The sale is pending approval of the World-Herald's shareholders. (AP Photo, The Omaha World-Herald, Jeff Bundy) MAGS OUT TV OUT, LOCAL TV OUT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has completed the purchase of company chairman Warren Buffett's hometown newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald.

The deal announced Nov. 30, for $150 million and the assumption of $50 million in debt, ended one of the newspaper industry's last sizable employee-ownership plans.

World-Herald spokesman Joel Long said Monday that the deal closed Friday. World-Herald shareholders ? about 275 employees and retirees and the Peter Kiewit Foundation ? approved the sale by an overwhelming vote, Long said. The amount employees received for each of their shares, which are not publicly traded, wasn't disclosed.

Under the agreement, Berkshire acquires the flagship World-Herald and daily newspapers in Kearney, Grand Island, York, North Platte and Scottsbluff in Nebraska; the Council Bluffs Nonpareil in Iowa; a number of weekly newspapers in the region; and World Marketing, a direct-mail company with operations in Omaha, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Buffett, who is Berkshire's chairman and chief executive, had said he probably wouldn't increase Berkshire's newspaper holdings because of the industry's dwindling returns. Berkshire owns the Buffalo News and it has a sizable investment in the Washington Post Co.

But during a meeting with World-Herald shareholders, he said: "I wouldn't do this if I thought this was doomed to some sort of extinction."

The Omaha World-Herald Co. has about 1,600 employees, including about 650 at the flagship newspaper in Omaha. Its daily circulation is just over 135,000 and a Sunday circulation of a little over 170,000.

World-Herald CEO Terry Kroeger said when the deal was announced that the company's employee-ownership structure was restrictive and had forced the newspaper to repurchase stock from departing employees.

Buffett promised to stay out of editorial decisions at the World-Herald Co.'s newspapers. Berkshire Hathaway usually doesn't make major changes at the companies it buys. Instead, Buffett likes buying well-run companies, allowing them to continue operating in their fashion.

When the deal was announced, Buffett said the World-Herald "delivers solid profits and is one of the best-run newspapers in America."

Berkshire owns more than 80 subsidiaries, including clothing, insurance, furniture, utility, jewelry and corporate jet companies. It also has big investments in companies including Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-26-Berkshire%20Hathaway-Newspapers/id-06a82ff200ba4ac48cedce101cb7af80

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No Write-In Option For Virginia GOP Primary

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated the date on which signatures were due. They were due on Dec. 22.

Comments from Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign that the former House speaker "will work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign" in Virginia do not mesh with Virginia state laws or the rules of the Republican Party of Virginia.

In order to qualify for the March 6 presidential primary in Virginia, candidates must have submitted 10,000 signatures to party headquarters by Dec. 22, including 400 from each of the commonwealth's 11 congressional districts.

Candidates that did not meet that threshold will not be eligible to appear on the ballot. Reuters reports that Virginia Code Section 24.2-644(C) also rules out the possibly for write-in candidacies in a primary, stating, "At all elections except primary elections it shall be lawful for any voter to vote for any person other than the listed candidates for the office by writing or hand printing the person's name on the official ballot."

What this means is that Virginia voters will only be able to choose between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, on March 6. No Democrat qualified to challenge President Obama, so the president automatically wins Virginia's delegates in the Democratic primary.

Virginia is one of only a handful of states to have nonpartisan voter registration, meaning anyone?including those who support President Obama?is welcome to vote in the state's Republican primary.

Want to stay ahead of the curve? Sign up for National Journal?s AM & PM Must Reads. News and analysis to ensure you don?t miss a thing.

Source: http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/no-write-in-option-for-virginia-gop-primary-20111224

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Aliaena: @SultanAlQassemi M?ltiple photos plus great graphics for iPhone w twitterific app. PS Thx for yr vision & hard work. You bring hope.

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Source: http://twitter.com/Aliaena/statuses/150541284359155713

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Glowing Tee Lets You Create Fleeting Custom Designs [Clothing]

As an artist, if you choose to work in the medium of UV light and glowing tees instead of paint and canvas, be prepared to be frustrated. Because that masterpiece you spent five seconds sketching will fade almost as quickly. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/bAU3kSKqz2k/glowing-tee-lets-you-create-fleeting-custom-designs

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Eric Schmidt: High-quality Google Tablet Coming in Six Months

Soon Google could show tablet makers like ASUS, HTC, Lenovo, and Motorola how a real?Android tablet is made. During an interview with an Italian newspaper this week, Eric Schmidt, Google?s Executive Chairman, mentioned plans ?to market a tablet of the highest quality?.

The idea sounds similar to Google?s Nexus line of smartphones. Google typically helms the designs of those devices, and the final products are usually treated as the ideal pairing of hardware with Android software.?

Though the often-talkative Schmidt says little else along the lines of confirmed plans, he does give the tablet a six month window. The rest of the article finds Schmidt waxing on the nature of capitalism and the spirit of competition between Apple and Google, as well as American tech makers taking on new products from manufacturers in Europe and Asia.

Check out the full, inelegant Google translation from Corriere della Sera?s website.

via Corriere della Sera, The Boston Herald?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LAPTOPBuyingGuides/~3/SCtUMralzRk/eric-schmidt-high-quality-google-tablet-coming-in-six-months

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GOP: Gingrich, Perry will not be on Va. Ballot

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a campaign stop, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a campaign stop, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks to workers and local residents after touring the TPI Iowa wind blade manufacturing facility, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican presidential candidate, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney talks with a voter while campaigning in Concord, N.H. Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a campaign stop, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have failed to qualify for Virginia's March 6 Republican primary, a setback in their bids for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Republican Party of Virginia announced the developments Friday and early Saturday, saying that the two have failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot.

That Gingrich and Perry failed to get on the ballot in this state that votes on Super Tuesday underscored the difficulty that first-time national candidates ? many with smaller campaign operations and less money ? have in preparing for the long haul of the campaign.

It also illustrates the advantage held by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. He's essentially been running for president for five years, and his team, smaller than in 2008 but larger than most of his 2012 opponents, has paid close attention to filing requirements in each state. He will appear on the Virginia ballot, along with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who also has run a national campaign before.

"After verification, RPV has determined that Newt Gingrich did not submit required 10k signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary," the Republican Party of Virginia announced early Saturday on its Twitter website.

State GOP spokesman Garren Shipley said volunteers spent Friday validating petitions that the four candidates submitted by the Thursday 5 p.m. deadline to the State Board of Elections. Shipley was not available early Saturday to discuss the announcement posted on the website.

Failing to get on the ballot will be a major setback for Gingrich, who has tried to use his recent upsurge in popularity to make up for a late organizing start. Ironically, Gingrich had a slight lead over Romney, with others farther back, in a Quinnipiac poll of Virginia Republicans released earlier in the week.

The load of catching up on organizing work and a lack of advertising money to counter an onslaught of negative ads from his rivals have been major disadvantages.

Gingrich had to leave New Hampshire on Wednesday and race to Virginia, where he needed 10,000 valid voters' signatures to secure a spot on the ballot.

He said Wednesday he had enough ballot signatures, but he wanted to come to Virginia to deliver them personally. Taking no chances, his volunteers asked everyone to sign petitions before entering Gingrich's rally Wednesday night in Arlington, just across the Potomac River from Washington.

Gingrich's early-December rise in several polls gave him renewed hopes of carrying his campaign deep into the primary season. Failure to compete in Virginia, which is among the "Super Tuesday" primaries, would deal a huge blow to any contender who had not locked up the nomination by then.

The state party's Shipley said the party was validating petitions the candidates submitted by the Thursday 5 p.m. deadline to the state elections board. It began validating signatures Friday morning.

The 10,000 registered voters must also include 400 signatures from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts.

Meanwhile, Virginia's Democrats said President Barack Obama's re-election campaign gathered enough signatures to get him on the state's primary ballot though he was the only candidate who qualified.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-24-GOP%20Ballot/id-c1cffa12672f44fb86714b8c709bfecf

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Occupy The Rose Parade Fund Raiser Final Push!

On Tuesday we announced our fund raiser for banners and t-shirts at Occupy the Rose Parade. You guys stepped up immediately and gave just over $2,000! Amazing! Small donations too. Thank you everyone who donated.

Our goal is $3,000 total. Organizers have told us that's what they need to do their float at this year's Rose Parade right. We are very, very close.

Occupy the Rose parade has coordinated with Pasadena police. They have a First Amendment right to march in the parade. They are float number 44 (as in Obama the 44th president). The Rose Parade is viewed by 50 million Americans and 200 million people world wide. The organizers are expecting anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 protesters to participate. Not only are there plenty of eyeballs to reach, five floats in the parade are sponsored by (wait for it) banks. Read all about their plans here.

So we are running this fund raiser one more day - this is last minute to give to allow time for the banners and t-shirts made in time for the event. Any amount you can give will make a difference.

Thank you so much for your donations!

Source: http://crooksandliars.com/anonymous/occupy-rose-parade-fund-raiser-final-pus

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